One Big Happy Family
by MiLadyofNight
Summary: What if Max's plan sort of worked out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lost Boys or any other recognisable characters.

Authour's Note: This is my first ever fan fiction. Constructive criticism and reviews always welcome.

My story is a kind of "what if Max's plan had worked out". The Lost Boys aren't dead. They're still alive and well and causing trouble. Lucy became a half-vampire so did Sam. Michael is still a half-vampire and he's not too happy about it. Sam has met the frog brothers but didn't take their advice and threw the vampires comic away the moment he was out of sight of the comic store; so the events that took place in the film with Sam and the Frog brothers beyond that point haven't happened. I think that should about cover it, I hope you enjoy reading this.

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Lucy felt exhausted, nothing was going as smoothly as she would have liked. She and Max had agreed that moving into a completely new house would make it easier on everyone to accept their new relationship; there would be no arguments on who was a guest in whose home. They'd found a house just outside of town that was perfect, close enough to town to make getting to work and school easier whilst still far enough out of the way to not be disturbed. They were all meant to live under one roof, one big happy family. That's when all the problems started. Her Dad had decided he'd rather stay put, "Lucy," he said "I've lived in this house for forty three years and I don't intend on leaving anytime soon". Max's boys had also decided that, they too, would not be moving in. Lucy thought that, perhaps in the long run, this was probably not a bad idea, mainly due to the fact that her attempts of bonding with them had been met with mixed results; Paul and Dwayne were generally amiable towards her, if only for Laddie's sake. David and Marko, on the other hand, were a challenge; David was deliberately being difficult and Marko was happily following his lead. Despite Max's warnings, David was defiantly refusing to get along with her. Sam, Michael, Star and Laddie had all moved in, but even that wasn't without its problems. Whilst Sam was adjusting to their new lifestyle in his own unique way, Michael was livid and barely speaking to her.

"Michael, listen to me" Lucy said to her eldest son, as he went to go out the front door, "I know, what with everything that's happened, this new situation is going to take a little bit of getting used to, but both Max and I want to make this work".

"How can you say that, Mom? That man is a killer, he is trying to make us into killers and you want to go around playing happy families?" Michael tried to keep his voice as steady as he could to avoid shouting at his mother. "The first night I met David, do you know what he did? First, he had me nearly ride over the edge of a cliff, just for kicks. Then, he made me think I was eating Maggots and that noodles were worms. After that, he tricked me into drinking blood. That was just the first night. The second night, he had me hanging from a train bridge whilst a train went over head. I could have been killed, and if that wasn't enough, the next time I saw David, he decided he'd take me on one of his little group hunting trips. To complete the evening's entertainment, they gave me the chance to watch them tear people to pieces; it was not a pretty sight. You want me to accept this situation?" This situation is full of shit!" Michael couldn't contain his anger any longer. He hadn't wanted his mom and little brother to become half-vampires like him, and it wasn't their fault, they were doing it for his sake, but it infuriated him how his mother could be so calm about it.

"Mind your language, Michael!" Lucy knew her son was angry, and she couldn't blame him, she had never expected to become a half-vampire alongside her sons, but there was no use crying over spilt milk, and she wasn't going to have Michael talk to her like that. "Max and I realise there is going to be an adjustment period for you, Sam and the boys. It's not going to be easy, I know you and David don't exactly see eye to eye and, Lord knows he can be a bit wild, but I think, maybe with a bit of love and nurturing, he can calm down. We can all be part of a proper family; all I'm asking is that you give it a chance, please". Lucy watched her son anxiously; she could see the look of confliction on his face as he battled with his emotions.

Michael thought this over, he didn't want his mother with Max, and he didn't want her or Sam associating with David and the others. However, it had been the happiest he had seen her in a long time. Plus if her relationship with Max did not work out, she would need him as a shoulder to cry on, not to turn round and tell her "I told you so". Michael could see his mother was awaiting his answer, "alright, Mom" he said begrudgingly "but I want it on record that I'm only doing this for you".

"Okay" Lucy smiled, as Michael walked out the front door. She almost felt as if a weight had been lifted, perhaps Michael would start speaking to her again on a more regular basis, now that he had somewhat accepted her relationship with Max. Lucy headed upstairs to bed; she needed to be up in the morning to make sure Sam and Laddie were on time for school. As she walked past Sam's room, she poked her head around the door "Sam, lights out, it's 10pm and school starts tomorrow". Sam was lying on his bed in his dressing gown, reading one of his numerous comic books.

Sam looked up from his comic "surely, mom, now that I am a half-vampire, I should be allowed to stay up later than when I was human". Sam gave his mom a hopeful smile, but could see from the look on her face, she was not going to be persuaded. Sam resigned himself to the fact that, half-vampire or not, his bedtime was still 10pm. "Fine, I'm just finishing this, okay?"

"Okay, but not too long" Lucy said and left him to it. As she walked towards hers and Max's bedroom, Lucy noticed Laddie's light on as well. As she approached the boy's room, she heard Star's voice. "Laddie, we've gone over this a hundred times before; Dwayne can't pick you up or drop you off at school, it'll be too light out. How about if Michael picks you up tomorrow instead?"

Lucy peeked through the bedroom door which was ajar. Laddie was sat up in his bed in his pyjamas; Star was kneeling by the side of the bed. Laddie crossed his arms and pouted "but I don't want Michael, I want Dwayne!"

"Night, Laddie" Star said, as she got up with a drained expression. She kissed the boy on the forehead and turned off his bedside light. As she walked through the door, she met Lucy in the hallway.

"Star, it's 10pm. Laddie should have been asleep hours ago. He starts school tomorrow" Lucy didn't want to sound like she was nagging, but 10pm was too late for an eight year old to be up on a school night.

"I know" Star replied "it's just..." Star struggled to find the right words through her weariness.

"...The whole Dwayne picking him up from school argument" Lucy finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah" Star was relieved that Lucy understood "that and he wants to go out on the boardwalk with them." Star didn't have to give any names for Lucy to know who she was referring to. Star immediately changed the subject "where's Michael?"

"He went out. To the boardwalk, I presume. He doesn't really talk to me much at the moment" Lucy said sadly "well, night then". Lucy went in to her and Max's bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Star decided she might as well go to bed too. She wanted to be up in time for Laddie's first day at school and Michael probably wasn't going to be back until late. If he was going to the boardwalk, she hoped he would avoid David and the other boys, they loved winding Michael up and she didn't want him to give them the satisfaction of doing so.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, it is much appreciated. Here's chapter 2 for your enjoyment.

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The shrill call of the alarm clock caused Star to wake up with a groan, she desperately wanted to go back to sleep, it would have been so easy, but no, she had to get up for Laddie. Michael groaned too, "five more minutes" he mumbled before turning over and going back to sleep. Star forced herself out of bed and went in to Laddie's room. Laddie was still fast asleep and looked so angelic that she felt guilty for having to wake him. Deciding that she'd let Laddie rest a little bit longer, Star headed downstairs for breakfast.

Sam was already in the kitchen eating some cereal. His head was propped up with his arm and he was clearly struggling to stay awake. "Morning" Star said sleepily as she entered the kitchen and prepared herself some cornflakes. Sam just grunted in response, it was too early in the morning to be able to link words together properly.

Upstairs, Lucy emerged from her bedroom fully dressed, leaving Max snoring from within the darkened room. She headed to Laddie's room to get the young boy up. "Laddie, wake up. You need to get ready for school" Lucy gently shook him awake.

Laddie tried to bat her away with an arm "I don't want to go to school". Lucy pulled the duvet off of him to encourage him to get out of bed. However, this only earned her a squeal from Laddie, who sat up, grabbed the covers and pulled them back over himself. Lucy realised this was not going to be as easy as she hoped. She went in to Michael's room to enlist his help.

Michael was fast asleep when Lucy shook him awake "what is it?" Michael murmured.

"I need your help to get Laddie out of bed" replied Lucy.

Michael got out of bed and dutifully did as he was asked. He went straight in to Laddie's room, picked the boy up and carried him down the stairs. All the while, Laddie was kicking and screaming. Lucy tried to make conversation with Michael "where did you go last night?"

Michael was tired and holding on to a struggling Laddie; he was not in the mood for questions "for a ride".

"I didn't hear you come in" was the response.

"It was a long ride. You were asleep when I came back". Michael didn't want to hurt his mother's feelings, but he had needed some time alone; away from the house, away from her. At the bottom of the stairs, Michael put Laddie down and went back to bed.

Sam and Star heard the commotion as they ate. They watched as Laddie was escorted in to the kitchen by Lucy. It was clear that his frame of mind hadn't really improved since last night, "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!" he yelled. Star could see Lucy was getting exasperated with this little temper tantrum, she was having enough problems with David and Marko without Laddie adding to the mix.

Star decided to take control of the situation. "You're going to school Laddie, whether you like it or not!"

Laddie glared at Star, how dare she take someone else's side over his. "David wouldn't make me go" he retorted. Laddie hoped that mentioning David would make Star back down and let him stay at home.

It had the opposite effect. Star knew Laddie was trying to play dirty now and she was not going to give in, "David isn't here, so you will do as you're told and go to school".

Laddie huffed. He was outnumbered and would clearly have to ride it out for today, he was sure Dwayne would have something to say about this.

About an hour later, Sam and Laddie were sat in the back of Lucy's car ready for their first day at school. "Is everyone excited?" Lucy asked cheerfully as she drove along the busy main road to the centre of town. Star was sat next to Laddie in the backseat, the car's child-lock was broken and sitting next to Laddie was the only thing that would stop him from jumping out the car.

"Mom, it's school" Sam replied matter of factly "there's nothing to get excited about". No-one said anything else for the rest of the journey. Lucy was busy concentrating on the traffic, Sam took to staring out the window, and Laddie just crossed his arms and scowled, refusing to even look at Star. Star had to pretend that she wasn't bothered by this behaviour in the slightest, though she did hope that Laddie would come home in a better mood.

"We're here!" Lucy exclaimed as she pulled up outside Santa Carla High School, a large _Welcome Freshmen_ banner hung over the building entrance. She turned to Sam, "I can't believe my little baby is all grown up and starting his first day at high school. Do you need me to come in with you?"

"No Mom, I'll be fine" Sam said quickly before hastily exiting the vehicle. Sam watched his mother drive off before making his way inside the school building.

Lucy and Star drove on to Laddie's school. Laddie had stopped trying to escape out of the car every time they stopped at traffic lights; unfortunately, he was now refusing to get out of the car at all. Half an hour later, they had managed to get Laddie from the car, in to school and into class. Lucy let out a sigh of relief, Michael and Sam had never been this challenging when they were Laddie's age.

At Santa Carla High School, Sam was sat in his first class: Double English. His teacher, Mr Oakman, had arranged them all alphabetically. Sam was sat next to a girl called Cora Evans. She seemed nice enough; her blonde curly hair fell to below her shoulders, she wore a crucifix around her neck and her clothes made her look like a model student. She smelt nice as well. Sam felt his eye lids getting heavy, Oakman was droning on about some play and its themes. Sam tried to stay awake, using his arm to support his head, but the room was getting warmer, cosier, and the monotony of Oakman's voice made sleep all the more appealing.

"Wake up, Emerson!"

Sam woke up with a start, his elbow slipping off his desk. The whole class was looking at him, some were amused, some were annoyed and some were just glad of the distraction.

"Am I boring you, Emerson?" Oakman was standing right in front of him, arms crossed, wearing something that Max would have been proud to own.

"No, Sir." Sam could feel all eyes were on him.

"Fall asleep in my class again and you will find yourself in detention! Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir"

Oakman marched back to the blackboard and resumed teaching, the rest of the class turned to face the front and Sam felt his face turn red with embarrassment. First day of school and he'd already made an enemy of his teacher, how could it possibly get any worse?

Back at the house, Lucy was cleaning. Star had gone back to bed and the only other living soul awake was Thorn. Lucy noticed Thorn watching her, "Hi Thorn" she greeted. Thorn just wagged his tail before disappearing back upstairs. Lucy missed Nanook; he was more sociable than Thorn, but her Dad needed the company so Nanook had stayed with him. Tiredness began to creep up on Lucy, Max had forewarned her about this happening, but it still hadn't prepared her for when it hit. Knowing the importance of not driving when tired, Lucy went to sleep; she needed to pick Sam and Laddie up later.

Sam said nothing in the car on the way home. This made Lucy concerned, Sam had always been chatty after school, telling her about his day, which classes he had, who he'd sat next to, who he talked to. Silence from Sam was not normal. "Sam is everything alright?" Lucy asked, after Laddie had exited the car and gone in the house, at least Laddie had come out of school in a better mood than he'd gone in with.

"I'm fine" said Sam "just a bit tired, you know, what with it being a long day and all" Sam smiled weakly. School had been hell, the very thought of having to go back and do it again tomorrow made him feel nauseous, but he didn't want to worry his mom.

"Okay, if you're sure" Lucy walked with Sam in to the house. She knew it was something more than just tiredness and she knew that Sam probably wouldn't tell her because he didn't want to worry or upset her but the fact that her son was keeping something from her made her worry even more.

Star was awaiting Laddie's return. "Laddie, how was school?" She beamed when the boy came rushing in. Laddie just scowled at her before running upstairs, this made Star's heart sink a little. He was still in a bad mood with her; perhaps she should have gone with Lucy to pick him up from school. When Lucy walked through the door, Star approached her "Is Laddie okay?"

"He's fine" Lucy replied "why do you ask?"

"No reason, he just seems a bit off with me... maybe he's just tired, I mean, it has been a long day for him" Star wasn't entirely sure who she was trying to convince.

As the sun set and the evening wore on, everyone's mood picked up. Lucy and Sam were cooking dinner, Michael had gone out to look for a job, Max was getting ready to go to the video store, and Star was watching Laddie playing with Thorn in the living room.

The sound of motorbikes sent Laddie gleefully running to the front door. Star shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the door flew open and in walked David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul. Star tried to avoid drawing the attention of the four vampires whilst Laddie started talking animatedly to Dwayne and Paul. Marko grinned as David lit up a cigarette; they knew how much Lucy hated smoking. As if on cue, Lucy came through from the kitchen, "David, I've asked you not to smoke in the house" she said feebly. David looked at her with disdain, he would smoke wherever the hell he liked. Lucy watched helplessly as David took a drag of his cigarette; he made eye contact, his icy glare daring her to try and stop him. Lucy hesitated, trying to summon up the courage.

Max watched the stand-off between Lucy and David with interest; she had to show David that he couldn't treat her like a doormat. Seeing Lucy hesitate made Max realise that she needed him to intervene. He strode up to David and took the cigarette off of him, throwing it into the nearby bucket of water that was kept specifically for such a purpose. Max grabbed David by the scruff of his neck and marched him over to Lucy, "What do you say, David?"

David knew this part of the game well, this was the part where he was meant to feel bad and apologise, "sorry about that" he smirked.

Lucy knew David was being insincere and she would not have accepted such a false apology had it not been for the fact that Max needed to get to work. The four boys had wanted to take Laddie out with them for the evening but they were swiftly herded out of the house by Max before they got a chance to do so. The sound of their motorbikes roaring away made Laddie scream and stamp his feet in frustration.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Sam asked, as he emerged from the kitchen, he'd heard what was going on and couldn't see why David gave his Mom such a hard time; she was probably one of the nicest people on the planet. Sam noticed Star looking guilty on the sofa and scowled at her, she should have stood up for his Mom; she knew what David was like. Dinner was an awkward silence that filled the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I've changed chapter 3 by cutting and adding stuff and moving bits around. I feel happier with it now; and kindly ask for you all to reread it and let me know what you think. Chapter 4 will be coming soon.

* * *

Michael was on the hunt for a job, one that would provide him with a decent wage and reassure his mother that he wasn't wasting his life by not going to college. He'd been wondering around Santa Carla for several hours. He knew it wasn't a big town and thus jobs would be harder to find, however, he found himself disappointed and unpleasantly surprised by just how well staffed everywhere he went seemed to be. He had tried the new mall in town, the bookstore, the grocery store, the various fast food joints dotted around the place and every other store that was open evenings; every time he was met with the response or some variation of "currently, we're not recruiting any more staff, but if you'd like to leave your details, we'll try and contact you should a position become available". The boardwalk was his last stop of the night. As usual, it was swarming with people out for a good time, oblivious and ignorant to the danger that roamed amongst them each evening. Michael envied them, their lives untouched by Santa Carla's dark nature.

The familiar sound of motorbikes met his ears. Michael looked up in time to see David and the others racing off, four pretty girls riding pillion on the back of their motorbikes. Michael felt his insides burn with anger; he couldn't let the vampires destroy another family. Without thinking, he restarted his motorcycle and began tailing the four vampires, who were already far out in front. The boardwalk soon became a distant sound and, as the sea mist blew in, Michael temporarily lost sight of his targets. An eerie calm, permeated only by the crashing of waves, surrounded him.

Piercing screams directed Michael to a deserted beach. He could see them now, the four vampires feeding off the group of young women. As he made his way on to the sand, the smell of blood began filling his senses, he had to do something. "DAVID!" he yelled, causing everyone to look up from their respective meals.

"Come to join us, Michael?" David asked sardonically, just dropping the girl he had been feeding on. She fell to the floor like a discarded toy, her life ebbing away with each laboured breath she took.

Michael felt his face change and instantly regretted his course of action, the desire to taste the red liquid pouring from the girl's wounds was growing stronger by the minute. He was outnumbered four to one, he knew the boys wouldn't kill him, that would be foolishness on their part, but what they would do is prevent him from leaving, allow the thirst for blood to overcome his rationality, and how it called to him so. All it would take is one moment, one moment of weakness on his part and it would all be over for him, his humanity would disappear with every drop he drank.

"Stop fighting it, Michael, you can't win. You should feed now, whilst you can still control it". David's words were enticing, and Michael could see the logic within them, the thirst could drive a starving vampire to reckless actions, but to give in now would mean to admit defeat and willingly become a killer, something he could never do.

Without a word, Michael suddenly retreated back to his bike and rode home as fast as he could. He would be the first to admit that it was not his finest hour, but what could he do? The girls were dead or dying, there was nothing to be done, and his very soul was hanging in the balance, edging ever closer to the point of no return. Running away may have been the right thing to do, but that doesn't mean he was proud of doing it.

David watched with amusement as Michael left, it was always fun seeing him struggle with his vampire side. Disposing of their recent kill into the sea, the four vampires headed back to the boardwalk, time is all it would take for Michael to give in and they had all the time in the world.

The house was quiet when Michael returned. Sam was the only person downstairs and was mooching for food in the kitchen. "Hey, Mike, you got a job yet?" he greeted.

"No." Michael replied "where is everyone?"

"Upstairs. David showed up while you were out. He did his usual routine of turn up, treat mom like crap and leave again. Max got rid of him. Your girlfriend did nothing to help, by the way" Sam said offhandedly.

"Leave Star alone, Sam" Michael warned "it's not her fault. Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"

"I'm going. Just getting a bite to eat. Does this cranberry juice look like blood to you? I figure if I practice now, I won't find it so difficult to drink the real stuff. Pretty cool plan, huh?" Sam saw the look on Michael's face and concern took over "you okay, bud? You don't look so good".

"I'm fine, couldn't be better!" Michael lied. He hurried up the stairs and into his bedroom before his brother could ask any more questions. Star was lying on the bed, her brown curls splayed out against the pillow.

"Michael, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting up.

Michael joined her on the bed and put his head on her shoulder. "I don't know how much longer I can last, Star. Every day, I can feel the thirst getting stronger and stronger. Tonight, I followed David and the others. They had some girls, I tried to save them, but I was too late, and then I wanted to drink their blood, I wanted to feel it running down the back of my throat. I'm scared, Star. I don't want to kill anyone, but I fear the day will come when I won't be able to stop myself. I fear that Sammy and Mom won't be able to stop themselves either". Michael began to sob, the thought of what would become of his mother and little brother overwhelming him.

Star was taken aback. She'd never seen Michael like this before; he'd always seemed so strong, if he thought there was no hope for him and his family, what did that mean for her and Laddie? "This is all my fault. I should have stopped David taking you back to the cave that night, then you wouldn't be like me". Star tried to fight back the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, as the guilt she felt about Michael's predicament overtook every other emotion. "I should have stood up to him, I wanted to, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry, Michael".

Star and Michael cried in each other's arms, their unavoidable fate crushed down on them. They were trapped, with no hope and no way out, all they could do was wait for the inevitable to happen.

It was late, the boardwalk was shutting for the night and Max was locking up the store when Thorn started growling. Max didn't need to turn around to know who was standing behind him. "Hello boys" he acknowledged "I think we need to have a little talk". He turned around and sure enough in front of him stood David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul. They didn't look too pleased at being summoned.

"Max, to what do we owe the pleasure of this little meeting?" David said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"You know full well. I want you all to show Lucy some respect, especially you, David. Your behaviour earlier was impolite. Must you be like this with every woman I meet?" Max loved all his boys, but at times they could be quite a handful.

"I don't know why you're so bothered. She'll be gone within the month, just like the rest of them". David put his hands in his coat pockets, he spoke for himself and the rest of the boys; they were fed up of having to deal with every "mother" that Max found for them.

"Lucy's different. She's special..." Max began.

David rolled his eyes "They were all "special", Max, what makes her so different?"

"She tolerates you for one thing and I'll thank you for not interrupting whilst I am speaking" Max scolded. "As I was saying..." he continued "Lucy means a lot to me, which is why I am going to ask her to marry me".

There was a stunned silence from the boys; none of them knew what to say.

Max decided to leave his boys to their own devices and head home to his beloved Lucy, they seemed to have taken the marriage news rather well, at least rather well for them.

The four boys watched Max drive away. The thought of having a permanent mother was not one that appealed to them. David broke the silence, "ten bucks each says they'll never make it down the aisle" he said as he lit up a cigarette. Marko and Dwayne agreed to the bet straight away, Paul reluctantly agreed, not wanting to be the odd one out. He liked Lucy, She was funny and kind and he didn't really want to see her get hurt. However, he could never go against his pack and he knew David never made a bet that he didn't fully intend on winning.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Here's chapter 4, apologies for the delay. I've changed chapter 3 and kindly ask if you could all reread it if you haven't done so already.

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It was Lunch time at Santa Carla High School. The cafeteria was filling up rapidly with students and Sam was struggling to find somewhere to sit. Cliques were starting to form; the "popular" people had commandeered the centre tables whilst everyone else was forced to find a place around the edge of the room. Sam spotted one almost empty table in the far corner, its lone occupant busy scribbling away in a notebook. Everyone was trying to avoid that table and Sam could see why, every so often an unfriendly disposition was assumed and a scowl would be thrown at anyone walking within five feet of the table. Taking his chances, and with nowhere else to sit, Sam headed over. "Is this seat taken?" he asked courteously, even though he already knew the answer.

"Does it look taken?" came the frosty reply.

Sam took that as an invitation and sat down opposite the hostile girl. Everything about her yelled attitude, from her dark messy hair to her black leather boots.

The girl looked at Sam incredulously "What are you doing?"

"I'm eating lunch, why?" Sam said, taking a large bit of his sandwich.

The girl looked taken aback but didn't say anything before continuing to write in her notebook, glancing up now and then to see what Sam was doing. The way she had folded the notebook enabled Sam to see words on the page facing him, curiosity got the better of him and he quickly read what they said. It seemed to be a poem:

_I made you laugh, I made you cry_

_I made you bleed, I made you die_

_I left your corpse upon the ground_

_Have no fear, it will soon be found_

_A mortal woman passing by_

_Her shrieks of horror fill the sky_

_Her heartbeat hammers, filled with fears_

_It is like music to my ears_

_Murder, murder, she starts to scream_

_I'm like the cat that got the cream_

_But as the sun begins to glow_

_It is the time I have to go_

_Although you put up quite a fight_

_Hitting, scratching with all your might_

_You lost the life you clung to tight_

_I am a creature of the night_

By Ava M Pire

"What does the "M" stand for?" Sam asked her.

The girl looked up at him, "what?"

"The "M" in your name, what does it stand for?" he repeated the question.

"Marie" she replied. She turned the notebook so she could see what had caused Sam to ask such a question.

"I'm Sam" he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Ava" she introduced herself.

Sam thought of the perfect conversation starter with this girl. "Your poem, it's about a vampire, right?"

"Yeah, I think they're fascinating creatures. Not living, yet not quite dead either. I might write a book about them one day, kind of like a definitive guide. I'll detail all their strengths, all their weaknesses, the way they live, the way they hunt, the ways they can die... You know this is the part where you would get up and walk away from the crazy girl". Ava's face was expectant but Sam stayed put.

"Believe me; I don't think you're crazy". Sam thought it was best not to reveal what he was to someone he'd just met, no matter how fanatical she seemed to be of the fanged variety. "It's a good job they aren't real"

"Oh, but they are. I've seen them, at the boardwalk. That and the fact the missing person count in this town is so high should give you clues to their existence". Ava paused for Sam's reaction to this dramatic revelation.

Sam tried to act surprised. He knew that, had he been human unaware of the actual existence of vampires, he would have probably just laughed at the girl, picked up his lunch and left at this point. However, under the circumstances, he felt to do so would be hypocritical, so he stayed where he sat and continued conversing with her until the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.

Back at the house, Lucy had just come home from collecting Laddie. His school had called to ask if she could pick him up as he'd been complaining about feeling sick. Laddie had fallen asleep in the back of the car on the way home, his head resting against his seatbelt. Lucy managed to rouse him enough to get him indoors and to bed, she would check on him later to see how he was feeling. In the meantime, she washed up his messy lunchbox, Laddie had obviously only eaten half of his yogurt and the contents were everywhere, she would have to remember to give him a rubbish bag.

Upstairs, Michael and Star were arguing. "Michael, we should talk about last night"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Michael replied curtly before swiftly exiting the room.

Star followed him down the stairs. "You can't pretend nothing's wrong!"

"Fine. I don't want to talk about it. Is that better for you?" Michael wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings. "Mom, I'm going out, I'll pick Sammy up on the way back" he called through to the kitchen before walking out the front door.

Star stood there with her arms crossed, she was annoyed with Michael, they needed to support each other, to continue fighting their vampire urges, but now he was avoiding the issue. She wasn't going to let the matter drop; she'd bring it up again when he got back.

Michael rode aimlessly around Santa Carla. He wasn't really heading anywhere in particular, more like getting as far away from Star as he could for the time being. He'd been a bit emotional last night, the events of the last few weeks had gotten to him, but he felt much better today, he just wished Star would stop going on about last night. Michael picked Sam up like he said he would, and was surprised to see his little brother talking to an actual girl. After teasing Sam all the way home about his new "girlfriend", Michael laughed as Sam stomped off huffily inside, his little brother was so easy to wind up. Star appeared at the door, Michael waited for her to say something but she didn't, she just walked away again. Feeling like he had done something wrong, Michael followed her inside.

At 9 pm, everyone had gone their separate ways for the night. Michael and Star had gone out together whilst Max had gone to work, taking Thorn with him. Laddie was asleep in bed and Sam was upstairs doing his homework. "Sam, I'm just nipping to the store to get some milk for breakfast. I'll be back soon!" Lucy called up the stairs.

"Okay, Mom!" Sam called back in acknowledgement.

Lucy drove to the late night store. The shelves were half empty, but she found the milk she was looking for, as well as some eggs and flour, she felt like baking a cake tomorrow. She checked the dates on the items she planned to buy, something her late mother had taught her to do. The cashier put her items through the checkout and bagged them for her, "Three Dollars Sixty Cents" he said. Lucy paid for her shopping and headed back to her car.

The impromptu shopping trip had only taken Lucy twenty minutes, but when she returned home and opened the front door, an unfamiliar smell greeted her. It wasn't unpleasant but neither was it a smell she wanted hanging around the house. "Sam, I'm home!" she called up the stairs. Lucy headed through to the kitchen to put away her purchases, but what she saw made her drop her shopping bag, the eggs inside breaking with a sickening crunch. Blood was pooling on the floor from the corpse of a red haired girl, she looked no older than seventeen, her body was against the cupboard under the sink, wounds decorated her arms and neck and her eyes were wide open, the look of terror frozen on her face. Lucy screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, it's nice to hear feedback for each chapter.

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"Mom, what's wrong?" Sam cried as he came rushing down the stairs, he'd heard his mother's scream.

"Sam, everything's fine, just go back to your room" Lucy commanded, she didn't want Sam to see what horror lay in the kitchen. "Make sure Laddie stays upstairs with you".

"He's asleep. What's going on? Why did you scream?" Sam could see his mom was agitated.

"SAM, JUST GO!" Lucy yelled. She needed him to stay upstairs and far away from the kitchen.

Sam shot back up the stairs like a rocket; it was unusual for his mom to shout like that, something serious must be going on. He checked to see if Laddie was still asleep in bed before going back in to his own room and closing the door behind him.

Downstairs, as soon as Lucy heard the bedroom door shut, she picked up the phone. She called the one person who she knew would sort this problem out and make everything okay again. She called Max.

"Max's Video, how can I help you?" Max said from the other end of the line.

"Max, it's me. You've got to come home now. There's a...a..." Lucy struggled to get the words out "a girl in the kitchen and she's...she's...she's dead!"

"I'll be right there!" As soon as max put down the receiver, he made his excuses to Maria and headed home as fast as he could. As he drove, he tried to think who could have left the body at the house. His first thought was that it might have been one of his boys, but he had always taught them not to bring a kill home lest awkward questions were asked. His second thought was that perhaps Michael or Star had finally made their first kill; they may have bought it home as they didn't know what to do with it after they had finished.

When Max arrived home, he found Lucy quivering in the kitchen doorway. She was unable to take her eyes off of the body and jumped when Max touched her arm. He pulled her away into the living room, she'd already seen enough. "Who else knows?" he asked her.

"No-one" she answered "Sam and Laddie are upstairs. Michael and Star are out. I don't want any of them to see this".

"Don't worry, they won't" Max reassured her before examining the girl's corpse. She was a fairly fresh kill; the scent of death had not yet set in. Despite the bite marks littering the girl's arms and neck, she hadn't been fed from, there was too much blood seeping from her. Instead, it seemed she had been left there as a cruel practical joke, designed to frighten Lucy. Max was now certain that the perpetrator was one of his boys, with his prime suspect being David.

"Should we call an ambulance? What about the police? What should we do?" Lucy looked to Max for guidance as she came back into the kitchen. She wanted the body out of the house as soon as possible, not only to avoid Michael and Sam seeing it, but because she could feel something stirring inside of her, something unsettling that she didn't want to acknowledge was there. Her shock at finding the dead girl was beginning to wane, and in its place something foul and repulsive began to develop. Lucy was feeling the sudden urge to drain every last drop out of the girl, the rich aroma of the spilt blood was intoxicating and it screamed at her to taste it.

"It's too late for an ambulance, and the police will only bring unwanted attention. I'll deal with this" Max said as he picked up the girl's corpse. She wasn't heavy and he effortlessly got her out the back door, now he just had to find a secluded spot to dump her.

With Max gone, Lucy closed both doors into the kitchen and set about cleaning up the pool of blood as fast as she could. She was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor desperately. She wanted every last speck of blood gone, so that the temptation would go away, but it was no use, the soapy water just turned red and made the blood spread even further. The sound of the inner kitchen door creaking open made Lucy spring from the floor to the door in one bound. She closed the door before whoever was on the other side could see in.

"Who is it?" Lucy asked.

"I'm thirsty" Laddie replied sleepily from the other side of the door.

"Go back to bed, I'll bring you some water up" Lucy made sure she held the door shut to prevent Laddie from pushing it open.

"I don't like water, I like juice" Laddie whined.

"I'll bring you some juice up, now go back to bed" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Laddie's footsteps head back up the stairs. She grabbed some tea towels out of one of the kitchen drawers and used them to soak up the worst of the blood; she'd get Max to burn them afterwards.

Lucy had just finished cleaning up the blood when Max returned, "Did anyone see what you were doing?" he questioned her.

"There was a close call with Laddie but I managed to avoid anyone seeing. Do you think this is right? Her parents have a right to know where their daughter is." Lucy remembered the time when Michael was five years old and she took him on a trip to a department store. She'd turned her back for one second and he was gone, she found him again within ten minutes but a whole load of scenarios had been running through her mind. Those ten minutes of not knowing where Michael was had been more tortuous than a Sunday lunch with her then in-laws.

"What's done is done. The Kitchen looks lovely" Max said, giving Lucy a kiss on the cheek "My boys will be here soon and we'll sort this matter out."

"Maybe I should leave you to it"

"Nonsense. You are an important part of this family and they will all learn to respect that" Max could see it was time to show his boys that he was serious about Lucy being their mother.

The boys' arrival was very restrained in Max's opinion, not their usual rowdy behaviour. They came in quietly and obediently and with the guilty air of being caught with their hands in the cookie jar. One of them was in trouble and they knew who and they knew why. Max ushered them into the kitchen and closed the door behind them. Lucy was present, as requested, as Max began his interrogation.

"Which one of you decided to leave a corpse in the kitchen?"

All the boys were silent.

"Well?" Max said impatiently.

"She wasn't a corpse when I left her" David spoke up.

"The rest of you can go" Max said, dismissing the other three. They didn't move, instead looking to David for orders on what to do. David signalled to them to leave and they left, this annoyed Max greatly, his boys should be doing what he tells them, not what David tells them.

"I thought it might have been you. Explain yourself now!" Max demanded.

"Consider it a token of apology for the other night" David said almost innocently, trying to conceal a grin.

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was absurd. "You thought the best way to apologise would be to put a dead girl in my kitchen? Do you even know her name?"

"Why would I want to know her name? David asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Max intervened "I'll handle this, Lucy. Apologise to your mother, David!"

"Fuck you!" David replied, making to leave.

Max seethed at this blatant impudence. Without warning, he punched David, flooring him, before proceeding to kick David several times in the ribs. "You. Will. Learn. Some. Respect!" Max spat, punctuating every word with a kick.

Lucy watched in horror at this violent display. She and David may never have gotten along but she didn't think he deserved the beating he was getting now. "Max, stop! You're hurting him!" Lucy pleaded.

Max relented and stopped kicking David. David took the opportunity to make his escape, a bruise forming round his left eye and clutching his ribs.

Max turned to Lucy "I'm sorry you had to witness that, but sometimes that boy needs to learn his lessons the hard way, I'll make it up to you, I promise".

Back at the cave, Dwayne, Marko and Paul were anxiously awaiting David's return. Marko was playing with his pigeons, Paul was sat on the sofa smoking a joint and Dwayne was pacing around the place.

"Do you want to sit down, you're making me seasick" Paul said irritably.

"You can't get seasick on land" Marko called over from his pigeon play.

"You can with Dwayne walking from side to fucking side like he is" Paul responded.

"I'm concerned, that's all" Dwayne retorted "Max was pissed and I mean proper pissed. He doesn't like the boat rocked and David didn't rock it so much as attempt to capsize it. David's not going to get off lightly, we should have stayed".

Marko let his pigeons go and joined Paul on the sofa "He'll be fine, he told us to go. Anyway, I've seen David talk his way out of worse situations"

"I doubt that" Dwayne argued "David left a dead body in Max's house where Max's beloved Lucy would find it and be scared shitless. I'd be surprised if he's not dead by now".

"Thanks for the concern, Dwayne. Ever the optimist" David had finally returned.

Paul noticed David's injuries "Bit of pain relief?" he asked, offering David the joint.

David accepted the joint and took a drag before commenting "Lucy didn't like the present. What can I say? I'm offended"

Marko chuckled "We thought you were a goner there for a second"

"To be honest, so did I" David grinned "Won't be trying that again in a hurry"

"I've told you before, Lucy's not the problem" Paul piped up

"And for once you were right" acknowledged David "She's not the problem, at least not our main one anyway, Max is. We get rid of her; Max will just find someone else. I say we get rid of Max".


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews; it's good to know people are enjoying this story so far. Apologies it has taken me a whole month to update, this chapter just kept on getting longer.

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The sun had already set when Lucy awoke. It took her a few moments to realise that she had slept the whole day, and that Sam and Laddie had missed school. The events of last night seemed like an unpleasant dream, but she could still smell the faint traces of blood and knew the image of the dead girl would forever be etched in to her memory. She went downstairs to find Sam and Laddie in the living room watching television. "What time is it?" she asked them.

"7pm" Sam answered, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Whatever happened last night must have been big to make you sleep all day". Sam turned to focus on his mom, "Come on, you can tell me, what made you scream and yell at me like you did?"

"Nothing for you to worry about. Where's Michael?" Lucy said, quickly changing the subject.

"Out with Star, again" a tinge of jealousy could be detected in Sam's voice as he turned his attention back to the television.

Max entered the room, dressed in a suit and tie, with Thorn following after him "Great, you're up!" he exclaimed. "We're going out tonight"

Lucy tried to resist. "I don't know, Max. Sam and Laddie have school tomorrow and they can't miss another day. There's no one else here to look after them and they haven't had any dinner"

"I don't need a babysitter. I can look after myself, I'm not a kid!" Sam interjected.

"Don't worry, Lucy, everything is already arranged. I've ordered pizza for Sam and Laddie and my boys are going to babysit, to make amends for their little indiscretion last night." Max saw the look of apprehension on Lucy's face. "It's fine, they've promised to be on their best behaviour." Max smiled his smile, the one he often used to put his intended targets at ease.

Lucy smiled back, although she still felt uneasy, the thought of leaving Sam and Laddie in the care of David and the others, in light of the dead girl incident, did nothing to calm her anxieties. She dreaded the thought of what she might return home to.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get ready, I'm taking you out to dinner."

Lucy suddenly felt compelled to do as Max asked which was strange as she didn't feel like going out, but there was something oddly persuasive in the way he talked. Lucy went upstairs, unsure of what to wear.

Whilst Lucy was getting ready, the doorbell rang. It was the pizza delivery. Max handed over ten dollars to the grateful delivery boy and gave the pizza to Sam and Laddie who began wolfing down the slices.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucy emerged wearing a blue dress with a pearl necklace, nice but not too fancy. "You look beautiful" Max observed. "My boys are late!" he grumbled, checking his watch.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon" Lucy reassured him, she didn't want a repeat performance of last night.

The familiar rumble of motorbike engines could be heard growing louder as they approached the house.

Lucy went over and gave Sam and Laddie a kiss goodbye "Make sure Laddie gets to bed on time, we shouldn't be too late. Be good!"

"We will" Sam replied, giving his mom a kiss back "Enjoy your evening"

Max opened the front door to let the four vampires inside "You're late!" he growled.

"We had some fun with a pizza boy on the way. We're here now; we'll just take them and go" David answered casually.

"You're not going anywhere. The boys have school tomorrow; Laddie needs to be in bed by eight, Sam by ten" Max commanded.

"That wasn't part of the agreement" David argued.

"It is now. I will be phoning later to check up on you, so you better make sure you're here to take the call. I've left a film on the table for you all to watch if you get bored." Max picked up his car keys and walked out the front door.

"It's good to see you looking so well, David" Lucy greeted, glad to see David's injuries had healed from the night before. David said nothing. Hearing Max calling for her from outside, Lucy left, closing the front door behind her.

"Well, this sucks!" Paul moaned. He knew the plan had been to go to the boardwalk, send Sam and Laddie off to do their own thing, then pick them up a few hours later and bring them back home. Trust Max to ruin everyone's evening.

"What film is it?" Dwayne asked, as Laddie threw himself at the dark haired vampire.

"_Sound of Music"_ Marko replied grimly, picking up the video.

There was a collective groan from within the room. "No chance in hell am I watching some nun prancing about on a hill!" David said nonchalantly and began lighting up a cigarette.

"Hey, Mom says you're not allowed to smoke indoors!" Sam complained.

"Your mom isn't here" David retorted and continued with what he was doing.

"I want to play baseball!" Laddie called out. He ran upstairs and returned a few seconds later with a baseball bat.

"Where did you get that? Sam asked.

"Who cares? Let's play ball!" David ordered, leading everyone outside.

Sam hesitated and could feel himself getting flustered, he had a nasty feeling that the baseball bat had come from Michael's room. It was one of the items that were Michael's pride and joy. Although Sam reasoned that it was better to have the vampires outside than inside with anything fragile, he knew Michael would be pissed if he found out the bat was being used. He just hoped it would return to its rightful place in one piece before Michael got home.

Sam was lost in thoughts of what Michael might do to him when a loud thump at the kitchen window made him jump. He hurriedly headed outside to see what the others were up to, ducking as a large piece of apple came hurtling towards him. It hit the kitchen door above Sam's head, snapping into several smaller pieces before falling to the floor. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Sam shouted

"Chill out. We couldn't find a ball so we improvised" Marko responded, gesturing to a large bowl of fruit on the ground.

Sam dashed out and grabbed the fruit bowl with its contents before it could get broken. "This is meant to stay inside!"

"Don't be such a spoilsport. If you were any good at baseball, you'd be out here with us instead of ruining the game!" taunted Paul.

"Actually, I'm pretty good at baseball" Sam corrected "I was the best player in my entire school last year"

"Prove it!" David challenged.

"Alright I will!" Knowing that his pride was at stake, Sam set down the fruit bowl and took the bat off of Dwayne.

David prepared to throw an apple. "You ready?"

"I was born ready!" Sam said, assuming the batting position.

The apple flied at Sam at great speed causing him to dodge out of the way at the last minute.

"Strike one!" Marko called, throwing the apple back to David.

Sam disagreed "No way was that a strike. That was a foul ball!"

"It was a perfectly good pitch!" contested David. "Let's go again!"

Once more, the apple sped towards Sam. He swung the bat but missed the fruit.

"Strike two!" Marko exclaimed.

"Come on, Sam. You said you were good at this, even Laddie can at least hit the damn thing!" teased David.

Sam was determined, timing was everything. With the third throw, he swung the bat and hit the flying apple...right into the kitchen window. Sam froze to the spot, the cracked window plain to see.

"Nice shot" Marko remarked, patting him on the shoulder.

At the restaurant, Lucy was enjoying herself. "I wonder how the boys are getting on?" she mused.

"They're fine. I'll phone them later but first there is something important I want to ask you, Lucy" Max said, reaching into his shirt jacket pocket.

Lucy was curious. "What is it?"

Max had produced a ring. "Lucy Emerson, would you do me the honour of being my wife?"

Lucy was taken aback with surprise. She was speechless for several seconds before saying what her mind was thinking "don't you think this is all a bit sudden?"

Max had prepared for the possibility of such an answer. "I've lived in Santa Carla for many years, long enough to know that someone as special as you, Lucy, only comes along once in a lifetime. Why waste time dilly-dallying around, when we can spend all of eternity together as man and wife?"

"I don't know what to say"

"Say yes, Lucy"

Lucy could feel the pressure to say yes but resisted. "I can't, not until I've talked to Sam and Michael. Remarriage is such a life changing decision for everyone. I could never choose a course of action that would impact on my sons' lives without at least consulting them first. I hope you understand. Plus your boys aren't exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of me being a mother to them".

"You have a kind heart, Lucy. Always thinking of others before yourself, that's what I've always admired about you. But you see, my boys wouldn't know what's good for them, even when it is staring them in the face. What's the real reason, Lucy?" Max tried to keep a calm, relaxed manner. He had hoped Lucy would have said yes by now.

Lucy was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean why don't you want to say yes? Is it last night? Is it because of David?" Max could feel the anger rising up in him, if that boy had ruined this relationship for him, he would make sure that a black eye and some bruised ribs were the least of David's problems.

"No, not really...partly...what I mean is..." Lucy struggled to explain herself. Yes, the whole incident with David and the dead girl had come as a shock. It had made her think twice about what being a vampire meant. However, the blame for her indecision couldn't fully be put on David and she meant what she said about talking to Sam and Michael.

Max suddenly had an idea on how to win Lucy's acceptance. If David was the problem, he could also be the solution. "Let me tell you something about that boy. He broke his own grandmother's heart!"

"Grandmother?"

As soon as Lucy asked, Max knew she was within his grasp. Her kind-hearted nature was so predictable, but he hadn't won her yet. "When I first met David, he was a very angry young man. Not surprising really when you consider his mother walked out on him when he was just a boy, on Christmas day of all days. Naturally his devout Christian grandmother took him in, but there's no substitute for a real mother. His grandmother raised him as best as she could, but she was old and ailing and too soft-hearted to discipline him. His behaviour grew wild and out of control. The drinking, the girls, the less than desirable company he kept, it all helped to send his poor grandmother to her grave. There he was all alone in the world, with no-one to turn to and on a path to self-destruction. I did what any good person would have done, I helped him, gave him a home, gave him a family. As you probably will have noticed, David has tried to resist any attempt of bonding with you. I believe his actions last night were an effort to drive you away. I think that he thought if you were to leave on his terms, he wouldn't have to go through the pain of you walking out on him like his mother did all those years ago".

"If that was the case then why did you react like you did?" Lucy asked, trying to fully make sense of everything that happened last night with what she'd just been told.

"When David starts acting out like he did, kind words would only do so much. If you want respect from David, you must demand it from him; he is not just going to hand it to you on a plate. Don't worry he knows the score. So what do you say, Lucy? Will you marry me?" Max could see Lucy's resolve wavering and he knew he was close.

"But my boys..."

"...Would not begrudge you some happiness. Say yes, Lucy. If not for yourself then for David's sake. Prove to him you're not like all the other women who have walked out of his life". As the words left his lips, Max felt triumphant, what else could Lucy say other than yes?

Back at the house, it was 9:30pm, the garden was a mess with pieces of fruit strewn everywhere. Sam was having too much of a good time to care, he hadn't had this much fun in ages. Thorn was mooching round the garden, eating bits of apple that he came across.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" There was no mistaking the irate voice of Michael.

The fun and games stopped. Sam stepped forwards "Mike, listen, I can explain everything!"

"I'LL TALK WITH YOU IN A MINUTE BUT FIRST I WANT THEM OUT!" Michael shouted.

"See you around, Sammy!" Marko said as he followed the rest of his pack off the premises. As entertaining as they would have found it to stick around and watch the show, they had better things to do with their time.

"Bye guys!" Sam replied sadly. He didn't want them to go.

Come on, Laddie, time for bed!" Star beckoned to the young boy.

Laddie tried to protest. "But...but..."

"No arguments, come on, bed!" Star led him inside and up the stairs, away from the fight that was brewing between Michael and Sam. From upstairs, Star could clearly hear the argument that was taking place in the living room.

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?" Michael yelled.

"ME? WHAT ABOUT YOU? WE WERE JUST PLAYING BASEBALL OUTSIDE AND THEN YOU HAD TO COME IN AND RUIN IT ALL!" Sam yelled back.

Michael saw the bat in Sam's hand and snatched it off of him "THIS IS MINE! DAD GAVE ME THIS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ROOTING THROUGH MY ROOM?"

"IT WASN'T ME! LADDIE WAS THE ONE WHO GOT IT!" Sam protested.

OH, SO EVERYTHING'S LADDIE'S FAULT NOW IS IT? SPEAKING OF LADDIE, WHY WASN'T HE IN BED BY NOW?

At the sound of his name, Laddie made eye contact with Star. He could hear the argument just as well as she could.

"We were only having fun" Laddie whimpered, fearful that, he too, would be in trouble, just like Sam.

"I know." Star said, giving him a reassuring hug. Downstairs the argument continued.

"WE LOST TRACK OF TIME! WE WERE HAVING FUN! RING ANY BELLS FOR YOU" Sam roared.

"I DON'T LIKE YOUR ATTITUDE, SAM!"

"YEAH? WELL I DON'T LIKE YOU! YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF THE GUYS!

"I DON'T CARE WHETHER I EMBARRASSED YOU OR NOT, I WANT YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" Michael bellowed.

"WHY? BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY SPEND TIME WITH ME UNLIKE YOU!" Sam couldn't believe how selfish his brother could be on occasion.

"THEY'RE DANGEROUS. IF YOU HANG AROUND WITH THEM, THEY WILL LEAD YOU INTO ALL SORTS OF TROUBLE. I'M NOT GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN!" Michael couldn't believe how stupid his brother could be on occasion.

"YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHO I CAN AND CAN'T HANG AROUND WITH. YOU'VE CHANGED, MICHAEL! EVER SINCE YOU STARTED HANGING ROUND WITH THAT WHORE OF YOURS! I'M GOING TO BED. BELIEVE ME; I WILL BE TELLING MOM THAT YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" Sam bawled.

"PERHAPS YOU'D LIKE TO TELL HER ABOUT THE KITCHEN WINDOW AND THE GARDEN WHILST YOU'RE AT IT!"

Sam slammed his bedroom door in response.

Star came down the stairs. "It's not his fault, you know" she said gently.

"I know" Michael replied. "But Sam is getting involved in stuff that is way over his head and he doesn't even realise it! How much of that argument did you hear?"

"Everything. You'll just have to let it run its course. If Sam wants to hang out with David and the others, then let him. They'll soon get bored of him"

"But what if they don't?"

"They will, trust me. I know David; I know what he's like. He'll keep Sam around as long as he knows it winds you up". Star put her arms around Michael's neck and embraced him.

"What if they try to get him to kill?" The notion had been playing on Michael's mind for some time. He didn't want to see his little brother become a monster.

"They won't. I'll make sure of it, I promise".

Michael and Star were about to exchange a kiss when the phone rang.

Michael answered it. "Hello?"

"Michael, is that you?" came Lucy's voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, mom, it's me. Listen, I think we need to have a little talk about Sam."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the lovely reviews and your patience. They are both greatly appreciated. I found this chapter difficult to write, I had the ideas but had trouble getting them into written form, hence why it has taken so long to update.

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Lucy made herself a cup of coffee as she waited for Sam to come downstairs for breakfast. Michael had told her of Sam's antics last night and it had come as a bit of a shock. She knew Sam was at an impressionable age and was likely to have been influenced by Max's boys, but it was still no excuse for the way he behaved. She wanted to talk to him about it, to find out what the full story was before she started dealing consequences. Sam had just entered the kitchen when Lucy made her move. "Sam, can we talk?"

Sam's initial expression was like a rabbit caught in headlights. "Sure, Mom. What's up?" he asked, startled.

Lucy looked Sam right in the eye. "Can you tell me what happened last night?"

"What's Michael said?" Sam huffed; he should have known Michael would have tattled on him at the first opportune moment.

"Never mind what Michael said, I want to hear what you have to say"

Sam scowled "Why bother? You'll only believe Michael any way!"

"Sam, I asked you a question" Lucy said firmly "What happened last night?

Sam knew he was at a disadvantage because of Michael getting to his mom first. His best course of action would be to admit his wrongdoings and aim for damage limitation. Sam swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Me and the guys were playing a bit of baseball in the garden and I accidentally hit the window". He added hastily "I didn't mean to, like I said it was an accident and using the apples for baseball was the guys' idea, not mine. We would've cleaned up afterwards had Michael not totally overreacted like he did! I may have accidentally called Star a whore as well."

Lucy frowned, astonished at what she was hearing, she couldn't quite believe Sam could behave like that. She said the first thought that occurred to her. "What apples?"

Sam realised, too late, that he'd probably just dropped the four older vampires in trouble as well but there was no turning back now. "The apples out the fruit bowl, it's still in the garden" he winced, expecting his mother to shout and yell.

Lucy did neither, the truth was sinking in, and the look on her face expressed her feelings clear enough. "I'm disappointed, I really am, I expected better of you! Consider yourself grounded for the weekend, young man. Because of others involved in this mess, I'll be discussing with Max whether or not the repair for the window should come out of your allowance. You're to apologise to Star as well, I will not tolerate that sort of name calling in this house!"

Sam opened his mouth to argue but Lucy cut him off before he could say anything. "Just eat your breakfast and get ready for school" she said curtly. Lucy left Sam alone in the kitchen as she went outside to retrieve the fruit bowl.

Sam could see his mother in the garden viewing the destruction of the night before, the morning sunshine casting an unforgiving light on the carnage of strewn apple pieces. Feeling a great deal of guilt and remorse for his actions, Sam forlornly turned back to his cereal, "I'm sorry, Mom" he said quietly.

The car trip to school was uncomfortable, full of awkward silences and pleading glances. Sam didn't know what to say or do to make everything alright again; he just wanted his mother to look at him without the look of disappointment. Even Laddie had realised that it was not a good time to kick up a fuss and he sat quietly in the backseat, not daring to say a single word. For once in his life, Sam was glad to be stood outside of school as his mother drove away.

After dropping Laddie off at his school, Lucy decided to visit her father. She found him out the front of the house fixing a fence. "Hi, Dad" she greeted cheerfully, putting the business with Sam out of her mind for the time being.

"Lucy!" her father exclaimed, before coming over and giving her a hug. "You look exhausted. You should go inside and lie down out of the sun!"

Lucy smiled. Although she desperately wanted to tell her father the truth of what she had become, she knew that, for the sake of his health, she had to keep up the pretence that everything was normal. She allowed her father to escort her inside; the brightness of the sun was starting to give her a headache. "I can't stay too long; I need to sort out the garden after Sam's little escapades last night".

"Surely you can stick around for a while, catch up with the old man. How are things? How are Sam and Michael?" Grandpa led Lucy into the kitchen where he started preparing coffee.

Lucy sat down on a stool by the kitchen counter, eyeing the numerous dirty mugs in the kitchen sink "Dad, you shouldn't drink so much coffee, it's not good for you"

"Nonsense. Nothing better than a good dose of caffeine to start the day and a couple of root beers to end it. Do you take sugar?"

"No" Lucy replied, as she watched Grandpa spoon a load of sugar into his own cup.

Grandpa brought the two coffees over and sat on a stool on the other side of the counter, opposite Lucy. "You didn't answer my question. How are the boys?"

Lucy took a sip of her coffee. "They're fine. Michael's still looking for a job; he hasn't had much luck anywhere at the moment. I wish he had gone back to school and continued his education but it's his life, he has to make his own decisions. Sam seems to be doing well in school, what with it being his first week and all. Though I wasn't so pleased with what I found in the garden this morning courtesy of Sam and Max's boys"

"Max's boys? You never told me Max had his own sons!" Grandpa was alarmed at the thought of Lucy and her sons being surrounded by vampires. One was bad enough.

"He has four of them. Are you sure I didn't mention it?" Lucy found it easier to say that the four vampires were Max's sons than explaining the ins and outs of just how they were related to Max.

"I'm sure." Grandpa knew he would have definitely remembered such a major piece of information; but it made him wonder, if Max had his own family of sons, why was he trying to muscle in on Lucy and her boys? "Everything going okay between you and them?"

"More or less. David is still adjusting to the whole idea of me and Max but I'm sure things will get better once we tell him we're getting married. Max explained to me why David's being like he is and it's quite understandable why he is reluctant to accept me as part of the family. I feel sorry for him, it can't have been easy having his mother walk out on him at such a young age" Lucy said wistfully.

"Did Max tell you the sob story before or after you agreed to marry him?" Grandpa asked cynically.

Lucy saw the look on Grandpa's face and mentally kicked herself at having let slip such momentous news; she had wanted to tell her father about her engagement properly. "I know that look. What do you have against Max?"

Grandpa chose his words carefully; he didn't want Lucy to know she'd just become betrothed to a bloodsucking fiend, it would break her heart. "I just think it's a bit soon after your divorce to be getting married, amongst other things. What do Sam and Michael think about this?"

"They don't know yet". Lucy said sheepishly. "Max and I were planning to tell them over dinner tomorrow night. Max's boys all need to be told as well. Why don't you come to dinner too? It'll give you the chance to meet everybody and you can get to know Max better. I don't think you two have properly met yet!"

Grandpa was less than impressed with this idea. "I'll think about it".

"Aren't you pleased? I thought you would be pleased!" Lucy felt a little bit hurt that her Dad didn't seem enthused about her good news.

Grandpa again chose his words carefully. "I have high standards when it comes to my sons in-laws. Nigel didn't meet those standards and neither does Max!"

Lucy got defensive. "Max is nothing like Nigel. I divorced Nigel because he walked out on his family to be with a woman half my age. Max wouldn't do a thing like that. He's reliable, a real family man. He gave me a job when I needed it most. He always tries to help those in need!"

Grandpa remained unconvinced. "Helping those in need or preying on the vulnerable? I just want the best for my little girl!"

"I'm not a little girl anymore" Lucy said steadily.

"You'll always be my little girl, Lucy" said Grandpa, lovingly. "I can see you're not going to change your mind. You're stubborn, just like your mother was. Promise me one thing, you won't let Max force you into doing things you don't want to do."

"I promise" Lucy smiled, touched at her father's concern. "So are you coming to dinner tomorrow night?"

"I supposed I'd better" Grandpa agreed. "I need to see what trouble you're getting involved with!"

At Santa Carla high School, Sam was in his least favourite class, English with Mr Oakman. Sam always struggled to stay awake whilst he was at school, but it was even harder during Oakman's class when Oakman would drone on and on. Because of this, Sam often found himself missing vital notes that he should have copied down from the blackboard. Luckily, Cora was kind enough to let Sam copy her notes whenever he needed to. Sam liked Cora. He didn't know what it was exactly but there was just something about her that appealed to him, besides the note copying. It could have been the way her blonde curls bounced whenever she walked, the way her smile could brighten up the gloomiest classroom or the way the scent of lavender tinged with something else would waft around her person. Whatever the reason, Sam always felt something stir inside of him whenever she was near, he wanted her, he longed for her, he had to have her.

At lunchtime, as Sam made his way through the cafeteria, he spotted Cora sitting at a table with her friends. Making a spur of the moment decision, Sam went over. "Anyone sitting here?" he asked, feeling his cheeks starting to redden. Why had he thought this was a good idea?

"No, have a seat" said Cora graciously. Her friends started to giggle as Sam sat down.

"I just came over to give you back your English notes and sort of...um... say thanks for, you know, letting me copy them down and everything so...um... thanks!" Sam inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words; he must look like an idiot.

"It's no problem, don't worry about it!" smiled Cora. She could see Sam was feeling awkward as her friends kept giggling away. "Do you fancy coming to the boardwalk with us tonight?" Cora offered, hoping to put Sam at ease.

"I would but I can't. I've kind of been...um...grounded" Sam cringed at how pathetic he must sound.

"Oh! Okay, another time then?" Cora shot her friends a look which made them cease their giggling.

"Sure! I'll see you around, bye!" Sam hastily got up from the table, almost tripping over himself in the process. He scurried away to the opposite side of the cafeteria, out of sight of Cora and her friends. He found Ava, sat alone at her table, writing in her notebook.

Ava's head shot up to glare at the intruder at her table. Seeing it was Sam, the notebook recaptured her attention once more. "Don't talk to me, I'm thinking!" she ordered.

The lack of talking suited Sam fine, he didn't want to have to replay the humiliation he had just put himself through. As Sam ate his sandwich, he commiserated the lost opportunity of seeing Cora outside of school. Of all the weekends he could've been grounded, why did he have to be grounded on this one?

Back at the house, Lucy was doing her best to clean up the mess in the garden. Thorn had been helping her, eating bits of apple that he had missed the night before, but now he was content to just laze in the sun and watch Lucy do all the hard work. The sun was scorching down and Lucy was forced to go back inside to escape the searing heat. She made herself a cold drink and turned on the television to catch the end of the local news. The female newsreader was on the last bit of news.

_"And finally, the body of missing teenager Jenny Young was found today by a dog walker, in secluded woodland. Charlie Nazel has the report"_

Lucy froze as a picture of the dead girl from her kitchen was plastered on the screen; she looked so happy and full of life.

_"Thank you, Susan. I am stood just outside the woodland where the remains of Jenny Young were reportedly found, scattered across the woodland. There has been speculation that the missing girl was a victim of a savage animal attack, but these are unconfirmed rumours. It is unclear how Jenny ended up in this woodland and police are regarding her death as suspicious. Witnesses, who may have seen Jenny on the night she went missing, are being urged to come forward with information on Jenny's movements that evening, where she went, who she talked to, any piece of information that could help create a timeline of Jenny's last hours. A few minutes ago, Jenny's family issued a statement, paying tribute to "a sweet, loving girl who was only a week away from her 18th birthday and will be sorely missed!" Local Santa Carla Mayor, Thomas Newley, said of the gruesome discovery "whilst this is a tragedy, a young life being cut short, I would like to reassure the public that there is nothing to fear in Santa Carla. In fact, the number of people reported missing this month has fallen to its lowest ever since records began..."_

Lucy turned off the television, a chill creeping up her spine. Jenny, the dead girl's name was Jenny. She had been somebody's daughter, somebody's child, and she'd been dead in Lucy's kitchen. Lucy had wiped up her blood from the floor; Max had swept her away out of the door, out of sight, like she was nothing, a mere inconvenience. They had just thrown her away and carried on like normal. Lucy wept silently, was this the monster she was to become?

Sam noticed his mom acting strangely on the drive back home. She was distant, unresponsive, like she was on autopilot. "Mom, are you okay?" Sam asked concerned.

Lucy put on a smile; she didn't want Sam to know the truth. "I'm fine. How was school?"

"Fine. I think I've made a new friend" Sam didn't want to engage in idle chit-chat, he wanted to know what was wrong with his mom.

"Good. And your homework, that's coming along okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I mean it's hard but I'm getting through it" Sam was getting unnerved by how distracted his mom seemed to be.

"Good" was her only response.

"Mom, are you okay?" Sam asked again.

"Fine. Fine. I'm fine!"

Sam wasn't entirely sure who his mom was trying to convince.

At 10pm that night, when most teenagers his age were out having a good time, Sam found himself stacking shelves in Max's video store. It was his punishment for the window, a lesson to be learned, anything he would have earned tonight would go towards replacing the window. Max wasn't going easy on him either; every time Sam cleared away a pile of video tapes, Max would present him with another load to sort away into the appropriate genre sections. Sam was getting bored and wanted to go home but he knew he had to see his punishment through to the end. He overheard Max talking to his store assistant.

"Maria, I'm taking Thorn out for a while whilst it's quiet, he's getting a bit restless. I won't be long"

"Okay, Max" replied Maria.

As soon as Max left, Sam quickly stopped stacking videotapes and approached Maria at the store counter. "I thought he'd never leave!" he said, leaning forward on the counter.

"Max takes his work seriously. You're Lucy's son, aren't you? I haven't seen her for at least a week, how is she?" Maria asked in a friendly manner.

Sam wasn't entirely sure how much Maria actually knew of the whole vampire deal. She worked with Max so surely she must know something. Still, he wanted to be on the safe side. "She's okay, I guess. Hey, can I do some customer service?"

Maria smiled "I think Max would prefer for you to just stick to stacking videos tonight. Anyways, Customer service isn't just about buying and selling, it's about making your customers feel welcomed and valued. It's also about knowing who to keep out"

"Like who?" Sam asked, interested.

"For example, off the top of my head, there's these four guys. I don't know their names but I always see them hanging around the boardwalk in the evening. Anyway, Max doesn't like them coming into the store, he says they scare away customers or something. It doesn't stop them coming in though, they never buy anything and I swear they do it just to wind Max up. If they came in tonight, I'm sure your mom would prefer it if you didn't deal with them"

Sam reluctantly accepted Maria's reasoning, he didn't want to upset his mom anymore than he already had done. "Do you mind if I take a ten minute break out back?"

"Go for it!" Maria agreed "Just make sure you finish stacking the videos before Max get back!"

"I will!" promised Sam.

No sooner had Sam gone out back, in the store walked three people Maria could have done without seeing whilst Max was out.

"Only three of you? Where's your friend?" Maria politely asked the dark haired one of the group. It was unusual not to see them altogether.

"He said he had some business to attend to. I can tell him you were asking after him if you like" the dark haired one flashed Maria a devilish grin.

Maria blushed. "No thank you, that's not necessary. You three should leave before my boss comes back and throws you all out"

The one with the patchwork jacket spoke next. "We're not causing any trouble. No harm in coming to see the prettiest girl in Santa Carla"

Maria giggled at the pickup line."I bet you say that to all the girls"

"Just the ones we like" said the long-haired blond one seductively.

Maria suddenly felt very uncomfortable and self conscious. She was used to guys trying to flirt with her, but without Max around, she felt vulnerable and exposed . "Please, go! Before I get in trouble for even letting you through the door!"

The trio complied with Maria's request and she watched them ride off in to the night on their motorcycles.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for the reviews. I always apologise for taking so long to update, it is because I am my own worst critic. I'd rather take my time and produce something good than try and rush out chapters that aren't worth reading. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story so far.

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Lucy had always believed that answers were never found at the bottom of a bottle, but as she poured herself another glass of wine, she began to wonder if that was really true. The news had been replaying the story about Jenny Young all day and Lucy wanted to ease the guilt she felt. She wanted to forget the sight of the girl lying dead in the kitchen and the smell of the blood as she cleaned it off the kitchen floor. What would her sons say if they knew she had helped cover up a murder? Lucy rapidly drank her way through the bottle of wine; it did nothing to help.

"You might want to try something stronger otherwise you're going to be there all night" a voice advised from behind her.

Lucy turned to find David leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, a smirk on his face.

"What are you doing here, David?" Lucy asked wearily, she was in no mood for his games.

"I came to see you"" David chuckled "and I must say it was well worth the trip!" He lit up a cigarette, much to Lucy's chagrin.

Lucy made no effort to stop him smoking. She resigned herself to the fact that it was pointless to try, she knew he only did it to get a reaction out of her.

"You seem out of sorts, Lucy. Something wrong?" David asked, not out of concern but curiosity.

Lucy wanted to scream at him, he was the one who left Jenny Young in her kitchen, instead she settled on a less melodramatic response. "How can you do it?" she questioned heatedly.

"How can I do what?" David casually replied.

Lucy could feel her temper starting to flare. "How can you go out and murder innocent people and feel no remorse?"

"You're still freaking out about that girl, aren't you?"

Lucy didn't answer him, but her silence only gave David the answer he already guessed to be true.

"You want my advice?" David continued "Get over it! You'll be a lot happier"

Lucy was astounded at David's response. Were compassion and empathy completely alien to him? Feeling a sudden surge of anger, Lucy found herself storming over and slapping David across the face.

David took the hit and smirked in response. If Lucy's reaction had come as a surprise, he didn't show it.

"I want you out!" said Lucy furiously

"And here I was, thinking we were having a nice conversation" David said sarcastically.

"I mean it! GET OUT!" shouted Lucy at the top of her voice.

David decided to leave, past experience had taught him not to provoke emotional women more than necessary. However, as it was Lucy, he couldn't resist a parting shot. "The girl was just the start, Lucy!" he warned.

Lucy glared as she watched him go; she couldn't believe she had ever felt sorry for him. There was no doubt in her mind that David could be deliberately malicious when the mood suited him, but what he had just said had hit a nerve. Lucy never wanted to see a dead body again for as long as she lived, she certainly didn't want Sam, Michael or Laddie to see one at all, yet she had a hunch that Jenny Young wasn't going to be the last body to cross her path and she couldn't protect Sam and Michael forever. Lucy cleared away the empty wine bottle and made sure the rest of the house was in order before she went to bed.

_The sun was setting as Lucy was escorted by her father up the red carpeted aisle of a crowded church. She carried a beautiful bouquet of flowers and her long white dress trailed along the floor. Lucy beamed at Michael and Sam; they looked so smart in their suits. Next to them were David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul. They too were wearing suits and Lucy was amazed at the transformation, their wildness seemed tamed and they appeared rather dashing. Max was waiting for her at the front. "Come, Lucy" he beckoned and Lucy eagerly joined him. _

_Suddenly the sky darkened and the church became emptied, a piercing scream rang out. Lucy was alone; she turned around and came face to face with the undead corpse of Jenny Young, the girl was covered in blood. The floor became sticky and squelchy and Lucy looked down to find the bottom of her dress stained red. Lucy watched in horror as Jenny Young emitted a blood curdling shriek before disappearing. Lucy tried to run back down the aisle but the red carpet became a deep pool of blood beneath her feet causing Lucy to unwillingly plunge into its depths. Up to her chest in red, and struggling to stay afloat, Lucy tried to make her way through the thick gooey liquid but it was sucking her down. Jenny Young reappeared and forced Lucy's head beneath the surface whilst David's voice rang in her ears "The girl was just the start, Lucy!" _

Lucy awoke with a jolt. It took her a few seconds to realise that she was safe and had only had a nightmare. She got out of the bed and pulled her dressing gown tightly around her. She left the bedroom, tiptoeing so as not to disturb Max, who was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world around him. Thorn moved past her, settling himself at the end of the bed. He watched protectively, guarding his master. Trying to put the nightmare out of her mind, Lucy went downstairs to the garden. The sun was beginning to rise and as she watched the warming glow chase away the shadows of the night, she felt the undeniable need to look at the spot in the kitchen that she'd been avoiding. Lucy went inside and looked, dreading that she would see the bloodied spectre of Jenny Young. There was nothing there, no body, no blood, just an empty space. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and was about to head back upstairs when she caught a sight of herself in a mirror. The nightmare came flooding back when she saw her translucent reflection staring back at her, a sign of her humanity fading away. She turned her thoughts to tonight's meal, it was important, her Dad needed to meet Max properly and her sons needed to know about her engagement. Lucy went back to bed, she knew she needed to sleep, but she feared what other horrors would plague her dreams.

The sun had set, the table was laid and everyone was dressed to impressed, well almost everyone. Sam sat on the stairs eavesdropping on Max reprimanding Dwayne and Paul about not making an effort with their clothes. Max was already annoyed about David and Marko not bothering to even turn up and it seemed that Dwayne's and Paul's lack of "appropriate attire", as Max so put it, was the last straw.

"What are you doing?" asked Laddie, coming to sit next to Sam on the stairs.

"I'm busy, go away!" Sam whispered harshly. He didn't mean to sound nasty but he didn't want Laddie giving his position away.

"You're listening in, aren't you?" Laddie whispered back "Star says it's wrong to listen in on other people's conversation, she says it's rude."

"I'm just finding out what's going on." Sam lied "That's all, now go away!"

"David and Marko are in trouble because they didn't come for dinner and Dwayne and Paul are in trouble because they didn't dress smart. That's what's going on." said Laddie proudly. "Can we play outside now before we get in trouble?"

Sam was actually impressed with Laddie's summing up of the situation and relented to the young boy's request. They had both reached the bottom of the stairs when they heard Max approaching the top. Sam and Laddie ran into the garden, to avoid suspicion as to why they were hanging around the stairs.

"Hey, no running in the house!" Lucy called after them, as she cooked the food for the meal.

Upstairs, Dwayne regretted letting Paul talk him into coming. "Be honest, how bad do I look?"

"You could look worse" Paul said, trying not to be too critical as he was sure he himself didn't look any better in the borrowed striped shirt he was wearing. Seeing Dwayne in a shirt was unnatural, seeing Dwayne in one of Max's checked shirts was just plain wrong. Did Max have no taste whatsoever?"

"I should have stayed with the others" Dwayne muttered to himself, tugging at the shirt. It seemed so constricting compared to what he was used to.

"We had a deal!" Paul reminded him "Remember? You come tonight and I owe you a favour that you can call in anytime you want."

"I don't know why you're so bothered about attending some stupid meal" said Dwayne, arms folded.

"It'll be nice. Anyway, Lucy's gone to a lot of effort" Paul replied, trying to decide over whether his shirt would look better tucked in or not. He wanted Dwayne to like Lucy because, with Dwayne onside, Marko would be too and then David would have to start being nice to her.

"What is it with you and Lucy?" The question had been troubling Dwayne for a while.

"I just like her, that's all!" Paul could never tell anyone in his pack that Lucy reminded him of his own mother. He ignored the look on Dwayne's face and went downstairs to the kitchen to see what was for dinner.

"Mmmmmm, smells good, what is it?" Paul asked Lucy.

"Spaghetti Bolognaise" Lucy replied "It should be ready soon. It's Dad's favourite."

"Cool." Paul stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before speaking again. "Look, I know you and David have kind of gotten off on the wrong foot, but he's really not that bad once you really get to know him."

"I'm sure that's true." Lucy said politely "Unfortunately I don't think David and I are ever going to get along" She turned back to her cooking.

"You could. I'll talk to him for you" Paul offered optimistically.

Lucy was touched by Paul's kind gesture. "Thank you, but I doubt it'll do any good. David's made it pretty clear he doesn't like me"

Paul tried again. "I'm working on it! Don't take it personally, David is normally like this with any of Max's women plus he's got a bet going and..." Paul froze. He had been aiming for comforting reassurance but realised he'd probably just said something that perhaps he shouldn't have. With a quick "It doesn't matter!" he made a hasty retreat out of the kitchen.

"Would it kill you to run a brush through your hair?" Max moaned, passing Paul in the living room.

Paul rolled his eyes. It was usually a novelty to see Max all uptight and, dare he say it, nervous but tonight it was just downright irritating. He'd already had to change his clothes to satisfy Max, he wasn't going to mess up his hair as well.

"Go get Dwayne!" Max instructed "I want to lay down some rules before Lucy's father gets here."

Paul mock saluted Max before heading upstairs.

Max paced around the room nervously. So long as his boys were on their best behaviour, there was no reason why the evening wouldn't go without a hitch, and there was no reason why his boys shouldn't be on their best behaviour when they didn't have David leading them astray. Max made a mental note to have a stern talk with David and Marko, whilst not having them present made the situation easier to handle, Max wanted to know why the young vampires thought it was acceptable to not turn up to an important family meal.

Paul and Dwayne emerged from upstairs and Max commanded them to sit and listen. "Rule number one: You do not speak unless spoken to. Rule number two: If you are asked a question, you reply in a polite and civilized manner. Rule number three: You show respect at all times. There is to be no funny business. Is that clear?"

"Yeah" said Paul.

Max locked eyes with the dark haired vampire. "Dwayne?"

"Crystal" answered Dwayne begrudgingly.

"Make sure you remember!"Max replied condescendingly before going to see how Lucy was getting on in the kitchen. He wanted everything to be perfect, no matter how inconvenient Lucy's father's presence might be.

"Fuck this, I'm leaving!" Dwayne declared once Max was out of earshot.

"You can't leave!" Paul argued "We had a deal!"

"Deal's off! You want to stay, you do it alone. I'm going to find the others!" Dwayne stomped up the stairs, gladly taking off the borrowed shirt.

Paul huffed. His plan to get the guys to warm to Lucy was already falling apart, and all because of Max's interference, first with the shirts then with the rules. Paul followed Dwayne up the stairs in order to persuade him to stay.

The doorbell rang and Thorn started barking. "Showtime!" Max thought, straightening his tie.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I found this chapter quite frustrating to write. I wanted to get it done and out of the way without rushing it. Eight characters in one place at the same time, trying to give each character something to say or do without being pointless; I literally wanted to bang my head against a brick wall. Let me know what you think about this chapter and if there is anything that could be improved upon.

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Grandpa stood outside Lucy's front door with a stuffed raccoon under his arm as a gift for the "happy couple". Although it was saddening to say goodbye to such a fine piece of work, it was his duty to protect his daughter and if that meant having to sit through dinner with Max then so be it. Grandpa knew he had to give Lucy the impression that he was making an effort, it would be easier to talk her out of the marriage if she didn't think he was set against it from the start. The door opened and Grandpa was met by Max.

Max politely introduced himself, extending his hand to shake the old man's. He knew he had to play nice, for Lucy's sake, though that didn't mean Lucy's father wasn't an unwanted nuisance. His own boys were already causing enough complications as it was and Lucy's father was just adding another to an already volatile mix.

Grandpa forced himself to return the loathsome bloodsucker's welcoming gesture. Grandpa pulled his hand free of the creature's grasp and replaced it with the raccoon. "I brought you and Lucy this!"

"Thank you!" Max said, taken by surprise as the raccoon was thrust upon him with force. It was certainly a unique gift, one that had earned itself a place out of sight in the basement. Max invited Grandpa inside. "Lucy's just finishing up in the kitchen. Would you like to take a seat? Can I get you a drink?"

Grandpa declined the drink but took a seat on the sofa as he watched Max enter into the kitchen and close the door behind him. Grandpa looked at the photographs perched on the mantelpiece. There were some of Sam and Michael as children and one of Lucy's late mother, eight years later and he still missed her. Footsteps sounded behind him and Grandpa turned round to see Michael coming down the stairs. His eldest grandson no longer resembled the smiling boy in the photographs; he was sullen and looked as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Michael, is everything alright?" Grandpa enquired.

"Fine." Michael answered grimly; his mother had made it clear that Grandpa wasn't to know what was really going on. Michael tried making conversation. "I don't know if you know yet but I've got a girlfriend, her name's Star. She lives here so does Laddie." Michael told Grandpa all about Star and Laddie, conveniently leaving out the parts that involved vampires.

Grandpa listened with interest and realised that it wasn't just Lucy and her boys that required saving from Max, there was a young lady and child that needed help too. "Michael, remember when I told you there were some bad elements around Santa Carla?"

"Yeah, Grandpa" replied Michael, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Well, we're about to have dinner with them"

Michael was silent. Was it paranoia or was his grandpa saying what he thought he was saying? Before Michael could ask any questions, Max returned and Michael decided not to pursue the subject any further for now.

"Michael, would you go and fetch the others? Dinner is nearly ready" Max smiled, the evening seemed to be going well so far. He wanted to get the dinner over and done with as soon as possible, he could relax once the old man had gone home.

Michael reluctantly did as he was asked but couldn't resist sniping "I'm not your errand boy, Max!" before heading back up the stairs.

Max chose to ignore Michael's comment this one time on account of present company. Under normal circumstances such disrespect would not be tolerated. Max turned to Grandpa "would you like to go through to the dining room?"

Grandpa acquiesced to Max's request, secretly proud that Michael wasn't making life easy for the spectacled vampire.

Paul emerged down the stairs and Max was annoyed to find him alone. "Where's Dwayne?" he demanded in hushed tones, after all he didn't want Lucy's father to overhear.

"He's gone." Paul answered casually, there was no point trying to hide the truth. "He went out through the window, went to meet up with David and Marko."

"Didn't you try and stop him?" Max asked angrily. It seemed his boys were becoming more defiant by the day; clearly they needed a few hard lessons in respect and manners.

Paul shrugged his shoulders, "hey, don't shoot the messenger." He had tried his best to convince Dwayne to stay, he'd even used Laddie as an excuse, but Dwayne had no intention of sticking around and, as his mother used to say, "No point crying over spilt milk".

"I'll deal with him later. Hurry up and go sit down, dinner's about to be served. And take your hands out of your pockets!" Max hoped that Dwayne's disappearance was just a minor blip in proceedings and not a sign the evening was taking a turn for the worse.

Everyone had taken their places at the dining table. Grandpa was seated at one end and Max at the other. Michael and Star sat on either side of Grandpa, Lucy and Paul sat next to Max, and Laddie and Sam occupied the spaces in the middle. Everybody ate their food in awkward silence until Grandpa decided to kick-start the conversation. "So, Max, how long have you been in Santa Carla?"

All eyes turned to Max, awaiting a response. "A few years, why do you ask?" replied Max, trying to keep his answers as vague as possible.

"Well, seeing as you're planning on marrying my daughter, I thought it best I get to know you a little, find out what sort of man Lucy is involved with"

"Dad..." Lucy cringed; trust her Dad to inadvertently let the cat out of the bag.

Michael just stood up and walked away from the table. There was no way he was going to have Max as a step-father and he would certainly let his mom know that when there wasn't an audience.

"Michael, wait!" Lucy called after her son, getting up to go after him.

"Lucy, give the boy some space to calm down and clear his head" advised Grandpa as the front door slammed behind Michael.

Lucy sat back down forlornly, disappointed at Michael's reaction. She had hoped that he had gotten past his resentment towards Max since their chat earlier on in the week.

"Congratulations, Mom!" said Sam supportively. He wasn't going to be over-dramatic like Michael, in fact he thought it was great news, it meant he got the chance to hang round with Marko and the others on a regular basis, they were much more fun than Michael. Plus his mom deserved a little bit of happiness.

"Yeah, congratulations!" Paul agreed, giving Lucy an encouraging smile. He knew Lucy and Max wouldn't last, especially if David had his way, but as far as potential "mothers" go, Lucy wasn't a bad choice.

"Congratulations!" Star smiled weakly, making eye contact with Paul. She too knew the reunion was going to end in tears, one way or another.

Grandpa viewed the wild haired vampire with suspicion before speaking to Max again. "Lucy tells me that you've got four sons, so where are the other three?"

"They didn't want to come" Laddie chimed in helpfully before Max could answer.

"Oh, and why's that?" Grandpa asked the child in a friendly manner.

"Because David doesn't like Lucy." Laddie answered honestly. He shrank back into his chair when he saw the stern look he was getting from Max, though he didn't know why he was getting such a look, all he'd done was tell the truth.

Grandpa looked at Lucy who averted her gaze. Awkward silence resumed as everyone finished eating their meals. "Been stuffing any more dead animals lately, Grandpa?" Sam asked, hoping to diffuse the tension and steer the conversation away from anything vampire related.

Grandpa was thrilled to have his youngest grandson express an interest in his hobby. "Indeed I have, Sam. Perhaps you'd like to come over sometime and view my latest works?"

Sam forced a smile. "Thanks, Grandpa!" He couldn't think of anything worse than having to spend an afternoon at his grandfather's house pretending to like taxidermy. "How's Nanook?"

Grandpa knew Sam was fond of the dog. "He's happy. He has the run of the fields, a warm bed to lie on and he eats through dog food like there's no tomorrow."

"Can I see him?" Sam understood and accepted why Nanook couldn't live with them but he still missed his four legged friend.

"Sure you can, come over whenever you want. Just phone ahead before you do so." As happy as Grandpa would be to have his grandson visit, he didn't want Sam popping over when the Widow Johnson was round.

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Sam said again, genuinely smiling at the thought of seeing Nanook, even if it did mean having to look at his grandfather's taxidermy collection.

Dinner was concluded in an amiable fashion. Grandpa complimented Lucy on a lovely meal and bid her goodnight. Paul decided that the time was right for him to leave too. He happily changed back into his normal clothes before roaring away into the night on his motorcycle. Laddie went to bed whilst Star and Sam retreated to their rooms, leaving Lucy and Max to sort out the dirty dishes.

"I thought that went rather well, didn't you?" Max remarked whilst drying a large dish that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher.

"It went okay, I suppose" Lucy agreed. "I wish Michael hadn't walked out like that though"

"He'll come round" Max reassured her. "I think it's just the surprise. After all, it wasn't exactly how we planned to tell them."

"I know. We still need to tell David, Marko and Dwayne. How do you think they're going to react?" worried Lucy.

"I'm sure Paul will pass on the good news to them for us. Why don't you go to bed and I'll finish up here." Max was rather proud of Paul tonight; the boy had proven he was able to do as he was told. As for the other three, Max would just have to think up suitable punishments for them.

"Thank you" Lucy said, giving Max a kiss on the cheek.

As Grandpa arrived home, he thought about the events that had transpired that evening. Max had obviously fooled everyone into thinking that he was a nice family man and it would be difficult to prove otherwise. The three absent vampires were intriguing, they seemed to be a sore subject for Max and the look he had given the young boy hadn't gone unnoticed. Grandpa knew he would have to ask Michael more about them, particularly this David, whose name seemed to come up repeatedly. As for Michael, it was clear he didn't like Max and that would make him a valuable ally on the inside. He would be able to keep an eye on things without raising suspicion. The question was how to convince Michael that vampires existed?


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews!

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Lucy awoke from another Jenny Young nightmare with sharp stabbing pains in her stomach. She clenched her fists and clutched her stomach as a gnawing hunger coursed through her body, crying out for the sustenance she would not let it have. Being careful not to disturb Max, despite the pain she was in, Lucy dragged herself out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water. The sun had just risen and the house was quiet, something Lucy appreciated whilst she waited for the pain to subside. She heard the front door creak open and saw Michael creep in. She let him close the front door before speaking. "Michael, are you okay? Where have you been?"

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed" replied Michael as he avoided looking at his mother.

Lucy could smell the subtle aroma of alcohol. "Have you been drinking?" she asked, alarmed that her eldest son was acting wildly out of character. "Michael, if there's something wrong, you can talk to me or Max."

"I'm tired!" said Michael more forcefully.

"Michael, Look at me. You can't keep avoiding the issue. Why don't we sit down and talk?" Lucy was almost pleading with Michael. She knew he'd taken the news of her engagement badly but she worried just _how badly_ he'd taken the news.

"I'm going to bed!" Michael left his mother in the kitchen and went upstairs to his bedroom where Star was already fast asleep. Michael undressed and climbed into the bed and pulled her close. He heard his mother walk past his room before he fell into a deep slumber.

The next thing Michael knew, he was being shaken awake by Sam. "Piss off!" Michael muttered, half-heartedly swatting Sam away with his arm but Sam was persistent.

"Mom said you need to take me to Grandpa's. Now hurry up, come on, let's go!" Sam attempted to pull Michael out of bed by his arm but Michael wasn't budging.

Michael pulled his arm away from Sam. "What time is it?"

"One o'clock" Sam answered. "Come on, get up!"

Star stirred from her sleep. "What's going on?" she murmured.

"Sam's being a pain in the ass!"

"No I'm not!" said Sam defensively. "Are we going or not?"

Michael groaned. Sam was old enough to get himself places without having to rely on big brother to hold his hand. "If I take you to Grandpa's, will you leave me alone for the rest of the week?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever! Can we go now please?" Sam was growing impatient, eager to see Nanook.

Michael relented. He told Sam to wait outside whilst he got dressed. After pulling on some clothes and kissing Star goodbye, Michael emerged from his bedroom with his sunglasses in his hand. "You ready?" he asked, putting the sunglasses on.

"Yes! Come on!" Sam practically herded Michael down the stairs and out the front door and soon they were on the way to Grandpa's. The rushing wind was refreshing on their faces as they rode through Santa Carla's back roads.

Grandpa was relaxing on the front porch and drinking a root beer when he saw Michael and Sam pull up on Michael's motorcycle. "Hi Grandpa!" Sam called cheerfully.

"Nanook's out back." Grandpa called back, he was anxious to talk to Michael alone.

Sam rushed towards the fields at the back of the house. "Thanks Grandpa."

Grandpa addressed his eldest grandson. "I'm glad you're here Michael; I wanted a word with you"

"What about, Grandpa?" Michael just wanted to go back home to bed, he'd done his duty, he'd dropped Sam off safely, why couldn't he just be left in peace?

"Why don't you come inside?"

Michael followed Grandpa inside of the house whilst Sam stayed outside and played with Nanook. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Why don't you sit down? Do you want a root beer?" Grandpa decided that the best way to convince Michael of the existence of vampires would be to take the direct approach, but he had to do it in a way where Michael wouldn't immediately call him crazy.

"No thanks!" Michael replied, sitting down on a living room chair. He wondered how long this chat with Grandpa was going to take.

"Michael, do you know what I used to do for a living?"

Michael inwardly sighed at the thought of having to endure a talk about "the good old days" from his grandfather. "No, Grandpa" Michael politely replied.

"I used to hunt vampires. I used to hunt them down and kill them!"

Michael was gobsmacked. The possibility that Grandpa knew about vampires had crossed his mind last night but Michael had dismissed the idea on the grounds that Grandpa would've surely warned the family upon their arrival about the real reason why Santa Carla was known as the "murder capital of the world."

Grandpa took Michael's silence as an encouraging sign and continued with enlightening Michael to the truth about Santa Carla. "Of course, when age caught up with me, I had to retire. I'd become slow, too slow for the job, and I knew your grandmother would never forgive me If I'd gotten myself killed."

"Did Grandma know?" Michael was bursting full of questions and that was the first one that sprang to mind.

Grandpa felt a tinge of guilt and regret that he'd never been fully honest with his late wife. "She knew I went out hunting but I never told her what I was hunting. I made sure she stayed away from the vampire hunting grounds hence why we chose this house. Vampires like busy places and this was the furthest house from town we could afford. This house was the safest place to live, though your grandmother never did understand why I was so adamant for us to live here, no she wanted the house that had the shops just around the corner."

"Max is a vampire." The words rolled out of Michael's mouth before Michael could stop them.

"I know which is why I don't want your mother marrying him. How long have you known about the vampires, Michael?" asked Grandpa, concerned.

"Since the summer" Michael saw the look on Grandpa's face and knew that it was confession time. "Grandpa, there's something I need to tell you"

Grandpa's face paled as Michael told him the horrible truth. His Lucy, his little girl Lucy, was on her way to becoming a creature of the night alongside her two sons, Michael's girlfriend and the child. "Have you made your first kill yet?" Grandpa always dreaded having to utter those words to a member of his family, today they applied to all three.

"No, none of us have, not yet" said Michael, aware of the blow he'd just delivered to the old man.

Grandpa regained his composure. "Then there is still time. Max is the head vampire, once he is dead, all half-vampires will become mortal again. What can you tell me the other four vampires?"

"They're crazy" said Michael, thinking back to the time they had him hanging from the train bridge with them. "They enjoy what they do and being what they are, they're out of their minds. Max seems to keep them in line but just barely."

"Therein lies the problem. Max must die, no question about that, but what to do about the other four? If we remove Max, they're going to run riot, but if we remove them then we're going to be welcoming a whole lot more vampires to Santa Carla and who knows what else. There are some things you should know about vampires, Michael, they're very territorial creatures. A vampire fighting over territory can finish off another vampire just as well as any hunter ever could. As much as I hate to say it, it may be in our best interests to keep Max's boys around unless they come seeking revenge. The moment Max dies, they're going to know, it's something to do with the blood link between them all". Grandpa continued, he seemed to be thinking aloud now rather than talking to Michael."That's going to complicate things, killing five vampires instead of just the one, very tricky business."

"I'll do it, I'll kill Max." In all honesty, Michael didn't want to kill anyone but he knew that wasn't an option, he was much faster than his grandfather, if anything went wrong and he needed to make a quick getaway, at least he stood a chance. It was his fault Mom and Sam became half-vampires therefore it was his responsibility to put it right. "I don't think David or the others are going to seek revenge, knowing them they'll probably have a party to celebrate Max's demise."

"You'll need to make sure" Said Grandpa seriously. "Once you're all mortal again, you're going to be like sitting ducks. If they come for you, they will come to kill."

"What about mom?"

"Her too. Vampires aren't picky about who they kill." Grandpa spoke from years of experience. He'd seen vampires attack victims young and old, male and female.

Michael tried to clarify his question. "No, I mean what about mom, she thinks she's in love with Max?"

"She'll just have to get over it. If you don't kill him, the alternative doesn't bare thinking about. Think of it as saving your family from a fate worse than death, it'll help."

"Why didn't you ever warn us? When we first arrived here, why didn't you tell us about the vampires?" questioned Michael.

"Would you have believed me if I had?" replied Grandpa.

"No" Michael admitted.

"Well then, that's why I didn't tell you!"

"I should be getting back. Do you want me to take Sam with me?" asked Michael.

"He'll be fine here; I'll keep an eye on him" answered Grandpa. "Michael, it needs to be done sooner rather than later. It's safer for all that way".

"I know Grandpa" said Michael turning away, his head swimming with thoughts. As he rode home, Michael knew what he had to do.


	11. Chapter 11

My sincerest apologies for taking nearly two months to update, thank you everyone for sticking with this story. As always, thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them so much as it is always nice to hear feedback!

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The house was silent when Michael returned home. Figuring that everyone was sleeping, he headed straight for the kitchen, opened a drawer and pulled out a large carving knife. The sharp blade glimmered as Michael studied it with intent, his mind clouding with confliction. Talking about killing Max had been easy, but standing there now with the opportunity to hand, Michael hesitated. He knew he had to do it, for his family's sake as well as his own, but it was murder, what else could stabbing someone whilst they slept be called? He remembered what Grandpa said about saving mom and Sam from "a fate worse than death" and Michael felt his resolve strengthen enough for him to put one foot in front of the other and head upstairs to where Max slept. Thorn was waiting for him outside Max's bedroom door.

The white dog rose to his feet, sensing danger, and snarled and bared his teeth as Michael approached. Thorn jumped, aiming for Michael's throat, his jaws instead fastening around Michael's arm which Michael had put up in defence. The knife clattered to the floor, momentarily forgotten as Michael fought to reclaim his arm from Thorn.

_ Lucy was sitting at the edge of a swimming pool watching a four year old Sam and a nine year old Michael enjoying themselves. The pool was unusually quiet, Lucy and her sons were the only ones there, not that Lucy minded, since Sam tended to get upset when he was splashed by boisterous children. Lucy watched Sam as he paddled around with inflatable armbands on. "That's it, Sam! Well done! Keep going!" Lucy beamed encouragingly to her small son._

_"Hey, Mom! Mom! Mom, Watch me! Watch me, Mom!" Michael called to her trying to get her attention. Lucy looked to see Michael create a big splash as he jumped into the water. "Did you see what I did? Mom, did you see?" Michael said enthusiastically, swimming over to her._

_"I saw." Lucy smiled at her eldest son._

_"I love you, mom!" said Michael sweetly._

_Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw movement and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She turned around to see what it could be but there was nothing there. It was just her and her boys._

_"Hey, Mom! Mom! Mom, Watch me! Watch me, Mom!" Michael called to her again. Lucy looked to see that he was stood in the exact same spot, ready to do the exact same jump. Suddenly, at the far end of the pool, Lucy caught sight of a third figure in the water heading towards her sons. There was something unnatural about the figure as it came closer, it moved too quickly and too stealthily through the water, like a predator on the hunt, yet there was also something so familiar about it. Lucy was transfixed as the figure came closer towards her, it features becoming more distinguishable. It was a woman with short blonde hair, and yellow eyes. Her sons were oblivious to this unknown person and continued their play. "Hey, Mom! Mom! Mom, Watch me! Watch me, Mom!" Michael called for a third time. Lucy couldn't take her eyes off of this strange woman in front of her, "Who are you?" Lucy asked._

_"Don't you recognise me?" The woman replied, showing off pointed teeth "I'm you, the real you, and it's time to feed!"_

Lucy woke up with a jolt. She could hear a strange noise outside the bedroom door and she got up to investigate. When she opened the door, she saw Michael struggling with Thorn. Some of Thorn's white fur was dyed red with blood and Lucy rushed to help. She pulled Thorn off of Michael and shut him in the bedroom with Max before tending to Michael. His arm was bleeding profusely and Lucy grabbed a towel to wrap round the wound in order to try and stem the flow of blood. She led him downstairs to the first aid kit she kept in case of emergencies. "What on earth got into Thorn?" Lucy asked as she cleaned up Michael arm.

"Who knows?" lied Michael, his thoughts on removing the knife he'd dropped during his fight with Thorn. It was sheer luck that his mother hadn't seen it yet.

Lucy decided to take the opportunity to talk to Michael, mother to son. She was concerned about his behaviour, her motherly instincts told her something was wrong, and she wouldn't rest until she had gotten to the bottom of the matter. With Sam out of the house and everyone else still asleep upstairs, now was the perfect time. "Is everything okay, Michael?"

"Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?" replied Michael.

"You just don't seem yourself lately. I was kind of hoping we could have a talk about Max and my engagement and your feelings about it." Lucy saw Michael roll his eyes dismissively but continued "I know the divorce was hard on you, it was hard on all of us..."

"This has nothing to do with your divorce from Dad!" interrupted Michael.

"Really? Then tell me, Michael, please, because I am racking my brains here as to why you are so against my marriage to Max. Do you think it's too soon after the divorce? Do you think Max is trying to replace your father? Is that it? Is that why you've been acting like you have?" Lucy was pleading for an answer, a reason, something that would explain Michael's attitude towards her. Last time he'd been like this was over the summer. "Tell me, Michael, Please. Tell me what you think!"

"You really want to know what I think? Okay then. I think you are making the biggest mistake of your life. I think you are so blinded by your desperation not to be alone that you refuse to see the kind of bastard you so willingly invited into all our lives. You might be content to play happy families with a killer but I'm not! What I'm turning into is my fault, I accept that, I never should have trusted David when he handed me that bottle, but Sam, you're to blame for that one. You should have protected him! I never thought I'd say this but I'd rather see my little brother dead than a vampire!" Michael hadn't meant to be quite so brutal with his response and he felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the look on his mother's face, but it was time she opened her eyes to reality. Michael stormed upstairs; picked up the knife he'd dropped earlier and hid it in his sock drawer before collapsing onto the bed fully clothed.

Lucy stood rooted to the spot, shocked at Michael's outburst. She wiped away the tears that had begun to run down her cheeks. She thought that perhaps she was just being a little sensitive because she was tired; after all, Michael wouldn't really mean what he said about Sam. Maybe everything wouldn't seem so bad after she woke up. Michael would realise just how wrong he was about Max and everyone could get along and live happily ever after. Lucy knew that she was being naive by hoping for such a thing. Maybe she needed to slow things down a little with Max. After pulling herself together, she went upstairs to bed. As she opened the bedroom door, Thorn came out and snorted at her in disgust. Lucy was really beginning to dislike that dog.

The sun had set and everyone was up and moving around the house "Is everything alright, Lucy?" Max inquired as he put on his tie.

"Yes. Well no, it's just silly stuff really" Lucy said, running her hand through her hair, trying her best to gently broach the engagement subject with Max without offending him. "Do you think we might've rushed into the whole engagement too early? Perhaps we should've waited a little while longer just until everyone was more okay with it."

"Has someone said something?" questioned Max, mentally lining up the usual suspects. David had form for deliberately messing things up for him but he was almost sure Lucy had not seen David since that unpleasant incident with the dead girl.

"Michael and I had an argument this morning and some things he's said have made me realise that he's not quite ready for me to remarry yet. I think it might be best if we call off the engagement temporarily and let everyone get a little more used to the idea of us. What do you think?" Lucy awaited Max's answer with trepidation.

"I think you're being taken for a fool, Lucy" remarked Max. "You're letting Michael walk all over you and if you let him do it this time, he's going to do it for the rest of your life!"

"That's unfair, Max! Michael doesn't walk all over me!" replied Lucy, defending her son. "It's very hypocritical of you to criticise Michael when your own boys could hardly be considered angels. At least Michael doesn't leave dead girls in my kitchen!" Lucy angrily left the room before Max could respond.

"Clearly I've been letting things slide a bit too long, don't you think, Thorn?" commented Max to the white dog. "It's time I put a stop to that, starting with my boys!"

Thorn wagged his tail in agreement; disobedience wouldn't be tolerated.

Dinner was just on ready when Grandpa returned Sam home. Lucy gave her father a hug, "Hi Dad, do you want to stay for dinner?" she offered.

"I best be getting back" answered Grandpa. "You mind if I borrow Michael for a moment?"

"Not at all" replied Lucy as she went to dish up.

Michael followed Grandpa outside. "What is it?" he asked.

"I've got something for you!" Grandpa indicated for Michael to follow him to the back of his truck where a small wooden box stood. "If you're going to dispose of Max, you're going to need the right tools". Grandpa opened the lid of the box. "In here we have stakes and holy water. There are many ways to kill vampires but a stake through the heart is the quickest and easiest. Be careful not to get any of the holy water on yourself, in your current condition it'll sting like a bitch. Sunlight is also a good way to kill vampires, providing you can keep them in it long enough to get the job done". Grandpa handed Michael the box. "Remember, Michael, the sooner the better!" Grandpa patted Michael on the shoulder before getting into his truck and driving away.

Michael looked at the box in his hands, a newfound determination rising within him. He hadn't really known what he was doing earlier and Thorn's attack had been discouraging. He hadn't planned, he hadn't thought of the obstacles that would be in his way, but as his father used to say "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". Michael would try again, he would plan, he would remove all obstacles in his way and, most importantly of all, he would succeed. Sneaking the box into the house and upstairs without anyone seeing, Michael stashed it in his closet and carefully concealed it away from inquisitive minds. All of a sudden, Star entered the room.

"Have you seen my scarf, you know, the rainbow coloured one? I can't find it anywhere!" Star began searching through drawers.

"No, I haven't seen it" Michael answered. "What do you need it for anyway?"

"I'm going to the boardwalk with Laddie. It was your mom's idea, kind of a special treat for him because he's finished all his homework. She thinks it might encourage him not to kick up such a fuss about school" explained Star.

"I don't like the idea of you two going to the boardwalk on your own especially with David and the others around. Maybe I should come with you?"

Star was touched by Michael's concern but she knew that she couldn't let David intimidate her forever. "We'll be fine. Besides, I doubt we'd even see them. We're not staying that long. Your mom's giving us a lift, doing some shopping then picking us up. Laddie's got school tomorrow so it definitely won't be late, probably an hour if that."

Michael was still unconvinced. "I still think I should come with you"

"We'll be okay!" Star reassured him.

Over dinner, Laddie talked excitedly about going to the boardwalk despite the tense atmosphere that hung around Lucy and Max. "First I'm gonna go on the roller coaster, then I'm gonna go on the carousel, then I'm gonna go on the wave jammer and then..."

"Laddie, we're not going to have time to go on all the rides" said Star kindly.

This was the last thing Laddie wanted to hear. "Why?" he demanded.

"Because we're not spending all night at the boardwalk" replied Star matter of factly.

"That's not fair!" Laddie grumbled to himself.

"Can I come to the boardwalk?" asked Sam. If Laddie was allowed to go then there was no reason why he couldn't go to.

"Have you finished your homework?" responded Lucy.

"Yeah" replied Sam a little too quickly. He caught the look his mom was giving him and decided he'd better change his answer. "Mostly, I can do the rest over lunch tomorrow."

"No Sam, You'll do it tonight. You know the rule!" said Lucy firmly.

Sam huffed in response. It was a stupid rule, having to have all homework done before Monday, he could easily finish it off during lunch break, hand it in on time and would have had a fun night out whilst he was at it.

"Michael can watch him" declared Max, expecting Lucy to jump to Michael's aid. He was annoyed that Lucy was trying to call off their engagement because of Michael and wanted to prove to her that she did indeed let Michael call the shots.

"Michael, would you mind?" Lucy requested hesitantly, she didn't want an argument to break out over dinner but she also wanted to make sure that Sam did finish his homework.

Michael glared venomously at Max. "Yeah, fine, whatever" he said steadily. He was thinking about the contents of the box Grandpa gave him. He would lure Max into a false sense of security, make Max think every think was going well, then when he least expected, it would be goodbye Max.

Everyone went their separate ways after dinner. Max went to work; Michael stayed at home with Sam whilst Lucy went shopping, dropping Star and Laddie at the boardwalk on the way. The boardwalk was busier than Star expected for a Sunday night. "Laddie, stay close!" she instructed as they weaved through the large crowd.

"Can we go on the carousel? Please" Laddie begged, hoping to catch sight of four familiar faces.

"Not tonight. It's too busy!" Star replied as people jostled past her.

Laddie scowled at Star. If she wasn't going to have fun with him then he'd just have to have fun without her. Seizing the opportunity when Star's grip on him slackened, Laddie put his plan into action.

"LADDIE!" yelled Star, as she saw him run off into the boardwalk crowd.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for the reviews, they're always appreciated! This chapter, chapter 11 and chapter 10 all take place within one day, hence why the previous two chapters don't have any of the boys in.

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Laddie nimbly darted through the crowds of people, ignoring Star's calls for him to come back. He wasn't entirely sure where exactly he was going but he kept on running as fast as he could until he was sure he had lost Star completely. When he could no longer see or hear Star, Laddie slowed his pace to a walk and felt a thrill of excitement as he wandered around unaccompanied. The boardwalk seemed different, the lights were brighter, the sounds were louder, the smells were smellier and he didn't know where to go first. The scent of hot dogs and cotton candy caused Laddie to feel around in his jacket pocket for money before he remembered that Star had hold of all the cash. Nonetheless, Laddie enthusiastically continued his little adventure around the boardwalk when he came across a magnificent sight: a comic book store. Laddie eagerly stepped inside and began looking at the rows and rows of comics that would surely makes Sam's head explode with jealousy. Batman, Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, and many more superhero comics, Laddie was overwhelmed with choice. He grabbed a Batman comic off the shelf and began thumbing through the pages with interest.

"Are you going to buy that?"

Laddie looked to the owner of the gruff voice, a teenager with a bandana around his head, and shook his head.

"Then put it back. This is a store not a library" said the teenager.

Laddie noticed another teenager watching him by the cash register and reluctantly did as he was told. As he left the comic book store and the mean teenagers, Laddie glanced over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at the two of them before making a quick getaway into the boardwalk crowd when he realised they had seen. The novelty of being alone on the boardwalk was beginning to wear off and Laddie was starting to get bored, he thought of his older brothers and wondered what they were doing right now. He wished he was older like them; they weren't made to go to school or do homework or go to bed. They could do as they pleased, they didn't have to listen to anyone if they didn't want to and they got to stay up all night. Laddie liked Dwayne and Paul the best, they were fun. They played with him, they made him laugh and they let him ride on the back of their bikes. David, on the other hand, was scary. He rarely spoke to Laddie and if he did, it was usually to tell him to "find someone else to annoy". Laddie used to believe David secretly hated him until Dwayne pointed out that David wouldn't have let him stay in the cave if he didn't like him; still, Laddie tended to avoid David when possible. Marko could be nice or nasty, depending on what kind of mood he was in at the time. Sometimes he would let Laddie play with his pet pigeons which Laddie thought was quite kind of him, other times he would tease Laddie to the point of tears. Star had yelled at Marko several times because of that. Laddie regretted thinking of Star, he knew he shouldn't have ran off like he did and he felt slightly guilty for doing so, but Star wasn't much fun anymore, not since Michael became her boyfriend. Pushing all thoughts of Star out of his mind, Laddie decided to head to the carousel. As he walked, someone grabbed the back of his jacket.

"LET GO OF ME!" Laddie yelled, twisting around and coming face to face with a very angry Star.

"We're leaving!" she told him forcefully, dragging Laddie along by the collar of his jacket.

Laddie didn't protest, he knew he was in a lot of trouble already and he didn't want to make it any worse. "I'm sorry!" Laddie cried as Star frog-marched him to the entrance of the boardwalk. They sat down waiting for Lucy to turn up and take them home. "I'm sorry!" Laddie tried again, wishing for a sign of forgiveness from Star but she ignored him. He moved closer to Star, putting his head on her shoulder, thinking that she would give him a hug in return but she didn't, she just sat there watching the road for Lucy. When Lucy eventually showed up, Laddie sadly climbed into the back of the car whilst Star climbed into the front.

"You're both quiet tonight? What's the matter?" Lucy asked on the tensely silent journey home.

"Nothing" Star replied.

"Laddie?" Lucy directed the question at him.

"Nothing" answered Laddie. If Star wasn't going to tell Lucy about what he did, he certainly wasn't going to.

Nobody said anything for the rest of the journey. Laddie looked at Star forlornly from the backseat but she kept her gaze facing forward and didn't glance at him once. When they got home, Laddie went straight to bed and sobbed quietly into his pillow until he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Max had just finished serving another satisfied customer when David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul strolled into the store. "I told you to stay out of here" Max said steadily, disguising his seething fury. Were it not for the number of customers browsing the store and the reputation of being an upstanding member of the Santa Carla community to uphold, Max would have grabbed his boys by the scruff of their necks and beaten them senseless.

"What are you going to do?" David smirked antagonistically. He knew Max was angry at them for skipping the dinner and he was enjoying the fact that Max couldn't do anything about it.

Max glared at them venomously as they sauntered teasingly around the store. "I'll call the police"

"Go on then!" challenged David, daring him to carry out the threat.

"Maria, fetch me the phone please" Max requested to his loyal shop assistant.

Max didn't take his eyes off his boys as Maria handed him the phone. He could see Dwayne and Paul beginning to shift nervously. "You have one last chance to leave before I call the police" warned Max, hoping that one of them would come to their senses and drag David out of the store.

Paul didn't fancy a visit from the cops, he had enough marijuana on his person to guarantee him an overnight stay at the station and he could tell David wasn't going to give in of his own accord. Luckily Dwayne was thinking the same thing,

"Come on, let's go" said Dwayne, putting his hand on David's shoulder.

David grudgingly relented and followed the rest of the gang back outside.

Max watched them ride away on their motorcycles and replaced the phone back to its rightful place. "Who's next?" Max called to his customers who had been watching the stand-off with great interest.

The four vampires rode to the boardwalk. It was still too early to catch anyone to feed from but that didn't stop them from looking at what was on offer.

"You're fucking nuts, man!" exclaimed Paul as the four of them prowled the boardwalk grounds. "You realise Max is gonna kill you when he next sees you for pulling a stunt like that!"

David was unfazed by the possible consequences of his actions. "It was worth it just to see the look on Max's face. Besides, I've got a plan to get rid of Max."

"Care to share?" Dwayne asked, intrigued to hear what David had to say.

"Michael."

Marko was puzzled. "Michael? What's Michael got to do with anything?"

"We're going to get Michael to kill Max for us" said David as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Dwayne scoffed. "How? I know Michael hates Max as much as we do but he's hardly going to jump at the chance to do us a favour. Anyway, why can't we do it ourselves?"

"Because if we just turned up out of the blue, Max is going to know something's up and he'd keep a close watch on us to make sure we're not up to no good. He'd never suspect Michael" answered David.

"But won't Max kill Michael?" pointed out Paul.

"Possibly but that's not our problem" shrugged David.

Dwayne was still disbelieving. "Alright, forget the Lucy walking down the aisle bet, fifty bucks says you can't get Michael to kill Max.

"You're on!" said David, shaking hands with Dwayne to seal the bet. "Hope you're feeling confident."

"I am." Dwayne replied.

"So how exactly are you gonna get Michael to kill Max?" inquired Marko.

"By giving him a little encouragement" answered David casually. "I think it's about time Sam joined the club."


	13. My Sincerest Apologies

Due to an overload of college work, I have to sadly inform you all that I am putting this story on temporary hiatus for a little while. I will still be working on it when I can and will update as soon as possible (I wanted to try and avoid hiatusing), however I have noticed that time is getting longer between each update and I don't think it is fair to keep you all hanging around for the next chapter when I don't have the time at the moment to give this story the attention it deserves. I wish to thank everyone who has stuck with this story so far and everyone who has reviewed. One Big Happy Family will return before Christmas!


	14. Chapter 14

Updated a little later than originally planned. Thanks everyone for your patience. It's great to resume this story after so many months. I hope you enjoy.

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"Sam, get up or you're going to be late for school!"

Sam groaned at the sound of his mom's voice. He hated Mondays. It wasn't just that it meant the end of the weekend; it was also the fact that Monday meant the start of another week of school. He could hear rain splattering steadily against his bedroom window and it was just another good reason as to why he should stay in bed.

"Sam, I said get up!" said Lucy impatiently.

Reluctantly, Sam dragged himself out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen where he made himself a bowl of cereal. An irritated squeal from upstairs let him know that Laddie had just received his wake up call and he wondered how the kid had the energy to throw a tantrum nearly every morning. Soon the familiar stomping footsteps of Laddie could be heard coming down the stairs closely followed by Lucy. As Laddie sat down next to Sam, Lucy presented him with a bowl of cereal.

"I'm not hungry" sulked Laddie, pushing the bowl away.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" responded Lucy, pushing the bowl back to him. "I don't want you going to school on an empty stomach."

"I don't want to go to school! I don't like school!" huffed Laddie as he picked up the spoon and reluctantly began eating the cereal before him.

After breakfast, Lucy sent Sam and Laddie to get dressed whilst she cleaned away the breakfast dishes. "Quick as you can!" she told to them as they went upstairs. "We're already running a little late!" However, when it came time to leave only Sam had re-emerged. "Where's Laddie?" she asked him.

"Still in his room I think" answered Sam, grabbing his coat off the coat rack by the door.

Lucy let out a frustrated sigh. If Laddie thought he could get out of going to school by dawdling, he was mistaken. "Sam, why don't you go and wait in the car, I won't be long". Lucy gave Sam the car keys before marching up the stairs to Laddie's room.

Sam was playing with the car radio when he saw Lucy come out of the house alone looking annoyed.

"Where's Laddie?" questioned Sam as his mom climbed into the driver's seat and fastened her seatbelt.

"Not now, Sam" replied Lucy, starting the engine and pulling out of the driveway.

Sam decided to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the journey. Laddie had really done it this time.

Back at the house, Laddie made sure the coast was clear before clambering out of the closet in Michael and Star's room, almost tripping over a small wooden box in the process. He froze as Star stirred in her sleep but luckily she didn't wake up. Carefully opening the bedroom door and exiting the room, Laddie swiftly and silently made his way downstairs wearing his favourite jacket that Dwayne had given him. He tried unhooking his coat from the coat rack but wasn't quite tall enough to reach and decided to leave without it. As he closed the front door behind him, the wind picked up and blew rain right in his face. Laddie hesitated, he wasn't keen on getting wet but he knew that if he stayed at the house, he was going to be in big trouble when Lucy got back. Figuring if he could just make it to the cave, everything would be alright, Laddie set off, hoping he wouldn't get caught on the way.

An hour or so later Lucy returned to the house. Traffic had been terrible and she was glad to be able to just come home and sit down on the sofa. She knew she should probably look for Laddie but she was tired, besides, where was the harm in waiting for Laddie to come out of hiding on his own? She would deal with him rain outside came down heavier and Lucy was glad she wasn't still out driving in it. She closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep.

Meanwhile, Laddie was cold, wet and exhausted. He'd taken a shortcut through some woodland, hoping it would get him to the cave faster, but now he was lost. All the trees looked the same and he didn't know which direction the cave was in. Laddie shivered, soaked from head to toe, and trudged on until the trees cleared and he came to the side of a road. Laddie was somewhat relieved, roads led to town and from there he could find his way to the boardwalk and then to the cave. As he walked, several cars drove past and splashed him with puddles that were forming at the side of the road. One of the cars pulled up ahead of him and for a split second Laddie was worried it might have been Lucy until a dark haired woman poked her head out of the window.

"Are you alright? Do you need a ride?" asked the woman, concern etched on her face.

Laddie just nodded and climbed into the front passenger seat. It felt good to be out of the rain.

"Do your parents know you're out here?" enquired the woman as she drove along.

Laddie didn't quite know how to answer that question. Lucy and Max weren't his parents; he couldn't even remember his real parents, so he remained silent.

The woman took Laddie's silence to mean no and she didn't want to press the issue any further. "I'm Mary what's your name?"

"Laddie."

Mary smiled kindly at Laddie. "Okay, Laddie, would you like to tell me where you're trying to get to in weather like this?"

"Hudson's Bluff" replied Laddie.

"Hudson's Bluff? Why on earth would you be going there?"Mary was a little alarmed. There was nothing out at Hudson's Bluff but cliffs and a steep drop. It was no place for a child at the best of times let alone in such awful weather.

Laddie didn't reply. The cave was a secret that was revealed by invitation only, even Max didn't know of its existence and that was the way it was meant to be, or at least that's what David had said.

Mary was unsure of what to do with this strange child in her car. She couldn't just leave him on the side of the road in the pouring rain and there was no way she was taking him to Hudson's Bluff. "Would you like to come back to my house? We can get you some dry clothes."

"Yes please" said Laddie. He didn't want to turn up at the cave all soggy and wet; Marko would just tease him about it.

Mary turned on the car radio to fill the awkward lull in conversation. She didn't know what song was playing and she wasn't a particular fan of it but Laddie seemed to like it and that was all that mattered for the time being. As she parked up outside her house, she noticed Laddie had fallen asleep where he sat. "Wakey, Wakey" she cooed, gently shaking him awake. "We're here."

Laddie rubbed his eyes and looked out the window to see where he was. Before him stood a small brick house with a garden and porch and a doormat reading _Home Sweet Home_. The rain had eased off slightly and Laddie got out of the car and stood underneath the porch whilst Mary got a suitcase out of the trunk of her car. Mary then unlocked the front door of the house and invited Laddie inside.

As Laddie went into the hallway, he noticed a photograph of Mary with three other smiling people standing outside a garage named _Pire's Tyres. _

"Who are they?" asked Laddie curiously.

"They're my family" answered Mary as she shut the front door behind her. "That's my husband, Brian; he owns the garage on Sycamore Street. That's my son, Christopher, he's away at college and that's my daughter, Ava, she's at high school."

"Sam goes to high school" remarked Laddie.

"Is Sam your brother?" asked Mary, keen to glean as much information out of Laddie as possible so that she could contact his family and let them know he was safe.

"Kind of in a way but not really" replied Laddie, unaware of just how confusing his answer had been.

"What's Sam's last name?" enquired Mary, hoping that she could at least look the family up in the phone book. Ava might even know the boy if he went to the same high school.

"Emerson" said Laddie as he continued to look at photographs dotted along the hallway.

Mary made a mental note to remember that name. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"No thank you" declined Laddie politely.

Mary guided Laddie into the living room. "Why don't you watch some TV whilst I find you some clothes?"

"Okay" agreed Laddie, sitting down on the sofa.

Mary gave Laddie the television remote whilst she went upstairs to the spare room to dig out some of Chris's old clothes. The spare room was full of clutter that had been collected over the years. Mary went to move some of Ava's old ice skates out of the way when she caught her hand on the blade. Mary winced and, as she inspected her hand, she saw blood trickling from the wound. Figuring that she would deal with the injury once she had gotten what she needed, Mary stretched up to retrieve the box of old clothes off the top of the wardrobe.

Downstairs, Laddie was happily flicking through the television channels, stopping on a game show called _The Price Is Right, _when he heard a loud thump from upstairs. Going to investigate, Laddie had reached the top of the stairs when a delicious scent reached his nose. He felt his face change as he followed it into the room where Mary was lying unconscious. A large bruise was forming on her head where a heavy box had fallen and hit her, its contents lying strewn across the floor. Laddie went to see if she was okay, and before he could stop himself, he licked the blood from her hand. It was the best thing he had ever tasted, Laddie wanted more. He bit her wrist, and as the blood flowed more freely into his mouth, Laddie felt a contentment he had never felt before.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for the reviews, they're appreciated! I'm so sorry it's been such a long while; things came up that had to be dealt with and unfortunately had to take priority over this. Let me know whether this chapter could be improved upon, I feel a little bit out of practice. Once again, sorry for the long wait between this chapter and last.

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Laddie stood over the body of his first kill; she could have almost been mistaken for sleeping if it wasn't for all the blood. He knew he should feel bad about what he did but he didn't, he was just wondering where he should hide the body, it was an important thing to do, to hide the evidence. Slivers of sun began to creep through the windows and Laddie could sense the threat posed by the malevolent rays. He stashed her in the wardrobe, moving a few things out of the way in order to do so. She was lighter than he thought she was going to be but he had no time to dwell on such trivial things. Laddie sought out shelter underneath a bed in another room, it wasn't ideal but anything was better than frying in the emerging sunlight. He made himself comfortable as best he could before closing his eyes and letting sleep overtake him.

Meanwhile, at Santa Carla High School, Sam was sat in the cafeteria at his usual table with Ava discussing what lessons they had after lunch. Sam had algebra and, although he wasn't looking forward to it, it was perhaps the only time where he could fall asleep in class and still blend in with the other students.

Cora came over to the table accompanied by her two friends. "Mind if we join you, all the other tables are taken" she asked politely.

"Sure!" replied Sam, shifting up to make room for them. He could see Ava looked displeased; normally they had the whole table to themselves.

Cora sat down next to Sam, accidentally brushing against him with her arm. "Hey, did you hear? One of the seniors was found dead in the woods on Friday. It was all over the news; some sort of animal attack."

Sam was entranced by Cora's lavender scent and gazed at her with riveted interest. She could say absolutely anything, even if she just read out names from a phonebook, and he would hang on to every word.

"The Frog brothers are telling everyone that it was a werewolf or some sort of creature" chipped in one of Cora's friends.

Cora laughed. "Those guys are so into their comic books, it's really quite lame"

Sam was brought out of his reverie with a bump. He was a fan of comic books, he had dozens, not that he was going to make that public knowledge especially after what Cora had just said. Perhaps she wasn't quite the girl of his dreams after all. Nice looking though.

Cora's other friend eagerly concurred with her. "I know right, they're pathetic. I mean, if it is true about the dead girl and all, why is everyone making such a big deal about it? People go missing all the time and they don't kick up a fuss. Your sister went missing didn't she, Cora? They didn't announce that on television did they?"

"Supposedly she's missing but I reckon she just ran off with her dick of a boyfriend to who knows where." There was an air of bitterness in Cora's tone.

"Why do you think she ran off?" Sam knew this conversation was on the verge of entering uncomfortable territory. He was aware that Marko and the others probably helped people to go missing and he would too one day. It was best to steer the conversation away from that notion.

"My parents didn't approve of him" explained Cora. "They said he was a troublemaker. So Shelly does what she normally does when she can't get her own way, she disappears with her boyfriend for days on end then comes back when they have a row. Last row they had was over some guy flirting with her at the boardwalk and Greg trying to start a fight over it. Anyway, they made up, she's disappeared with him again and she hasn't even bothered to phone home to say she's okay. I mean, how selfish is that? My parents have turned to religion because they're so worried about her hence why I have to wear this." Cora indicated her crucifix necklace. "People have a habit of going missing in this town so what are my parents suppose to think when Shelly can't be bothered to phone them? When she does eventually show up I'm so going to give her a piece of my mind!"

Cora's friends nodded in agreement.

"Have you ever thought that she might actually be dead and that the Frog brothers could be right?" commented Ava unsympathetically. She hated it when people were so up themselves that they couldn't see the bigger picture.

Cora got defensive. "You're telling me vampires and werewolves are real? Get a grip! If they really existed then tell me why I haven't seen one?"

"Maybe you have and you just didn't realise it." Ava had better things to do with her time than get into a prolonged argument with Cora Evans.

Cora took Ava's comments as an insult to her intelligence and answered back as she saw fit. "I'd recognise a werewolf or a vampire if I saw one. I think you need to go to the doctor and get your medication changed, clearly it's not working"

Sam was a bit taken aback by just how catty Cora's response had been. Sure Ava hadn't exactly been little Miss sensitive in what she said but Cora's comeback had been somewhat of a low blow.

Ava flipped Cora the finger in reply. Cora gave her a look of disgust before getting up and trying to find a place to sit elsewhere followed by her friends.

"What was that all about?" asked Sam, surprised by Cora's behaviour.

"Probably her time of the month" muttered Ava, glaring at Cora's retreating back. Seeing the look of confusion on Sam's face, Ava expanded on her answer. "We used to be friends back in sixth grade but then things just changed. I don't know why but it was like all of a sudden she didn't want to hang out with me anymore. We haven't really spoken since.

"I can see why". Sam chose to let the subject drop. He didn't want to get involved in what he called "girl troubles".

Back at the house, Star awoke with a feeling that something was amiss. She didn't know what it was or even what it could be, just that she couldn't shake the feeling away. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock; it was nearly 3pm, which meant Laddie would be home from school soon. Thinking it would be a nice idea to greet him on his return, Star got out of bed and noticed the closet door was ajar, unusual since it had been shut when she and Michael went to bed. As she went to close it again, a small wooden box was jammed in the way. Moving the box, something inside rattled and, wanting to make sure nothing was broken, Star opened the box to quickly check on its contents. She closed the lid again just as quick, shocked and surprised to discover the stakes and what was possibly holy water within, both lethal to a vampire. Unsure whether or not she should say anything to Michael about her discovery, Star placed the box back inside the closet and went downstairs.

Lucy was sleeping on the sofa when Star gently shook her awake. "What time is it?" asked Lucy dazedly.

"It's nearly three" replied Star. "Laddie and Sam need picking up from school. If you want I can go get them". She thought Lucy looked tired and could use the rest.

"It's alright, I'll go. It's only Sam who needs picking up. Laddie didn't go to school today, he chose to hide somewhere upstairs instead." Lucy picked up her car keys and headed out the door.

Star went back upstairs and called out to Laddie to show himself but the young boy did not emerge. "Laddie, this isn't funny!" exclaimed Star but still Laddie did not appear. Star began to feel apprehensive, this wasn't like Laddie to just disappear. Realising that, if he wasn't at the house and he wasn't at school, there was only one other place he could be, Star borrowed Max's car and drove to Hudson's Bluff.

At the cave, David was stirred from his slumber by Star yelling at him. "What do you want Star? It's the middle of the day."

Star could hear the annoyance in David's voice. It was obvious he didn't appreciate being woken up but it was tough luck, there were more pressing matters at hand. "Where's Laddie?" she demanded.

"How the hell should I know? He's living with you."

That was not an answer Star wanted to hear. "He's not at home and he's not at school. He's missing!"

"Then you'd better start looking for him then" replied David flippantly.

Star glared angrily at David hanging upside down in the darkness. "You're a heartless bastard, David!"

"And you're and irritating bitch, Star!" he retorted. "Now piss off and let me get some sleep. If Laddie hasn't turned up by sundown, we'll search for him then. There's not much we can do right now."

Star had to grudgingly admit that David was right. She couldn't really expect the four vampires to charge out into broad daylight in search of Laddie no matter how desperately she wanted them to. She worried about Laddie. What if he'd gotten into trouble? What if he'd made his first kill? Trying to not think about such terrible things, Star drove home as fast as she could to enlist help from Michael, Lucy and Sam in her search. Although Santa Carla was a small town, it was a big place to get lost in and it would be several hours before David and the others could join in the search, in the meantime four pairs of eyes were better than one. She just hoped Laddie was okay.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for all the reviews! My sincerest apologies for the long gap between chapters. It wasn't intentional but real life took over and before I knew it several months had past. I apologise once again and I hope you enjoy reading this.

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Star pulled up outside the house and turned off the engine. She tried to remain calm, panicking wasn't going to help anybody, but how could Lucy have been so stupid? Laddie hadn't been seen by anybody since this morning and Lucy thought he was just hiding? Running inside, Star hurried up the stairs to get Michael.

"Michael, Wake up!" Star cried as she frantically shook her boyfriend awake.

"Huh?" replied Michael drowsily, unaccustomed to such rough handling.

"Wake up! It's Laddie, he's missing!" Star threw some of Michael's clothes at him, hoping he'd get the hint to get dressed.

Michael was momentarily puzzled. "What do you mean he's missing? I thought he was at school"

"So did I, until your mom said he didn't go today. He's not in his room either. He's gone and I don't know where he is!" Star began to feel exasperated. Having to explain how Laddie was missing was wasting time.

Michael began to put on his clothes. "Look, don't worry; he's probably at the cave. We'll go get him and bring him back."

"I've already been, he's not there. David said if he's not turned up by sundown they'll search for him then." Star saw the look Michael gave her. "Don't look at me like that, Michael. They know this town better than anyone. If we don't find Laddie they certainly will."

"You really want Laddie with them?" The tone of contempt was unmistakeable in Michael's voice.

"No" admitted Star truthfully. "But I'd rather that than Laddie being on his own. At least they can protect him".

Michael huffed. He knew he was being selfish; David and the others probably did know Santa Carla better than anyone but he still didn't want them involved. He hated how Star had run to them first. "Listen, we'll search the boardwalk. Laddie knows that they hang out there so he'll most likely head that way."

With no other option, Star agreed with Michael's plan of action, though she was doubtful that Laddie would have gone to the boardwalk by himself. He was always with either her or Dwayne and he knew Dwayne would be at the cave this time of day so why hadn't he turned up?

Michael left a note for his mom, briefly describing what had happened and what she could do to help. Ready to go, Michael turned to Star. "Don't worry, we'll find him" he reassured her.

Meanwhile, Laddie was disturbed from his rest by the sound of something heavy being dropped not far from his face. From his position under the bed, he could see a rucksack that had been cast aside and a pair of black leather boots wandering across the room. Laddie laid as still as a statue, careful not to reveal his location, as his gaze followed the boots as they moved around. Eventually, the boots left the room and Laddie heard them go down the stairs. Sensing that it was still daylight outside, Laddie knew he couldn't leave the house but he wasn't sure how long it would be before he was discovered if he stayed where he was. Seizing his opportunity, the young vampire crept out from under the bed and tiptoed out of the bedroom, hoping its occupant downstairs wouldn't hear him. The sun was still shining in through the windows and, as he made his way across the landing, Laddie had to be cautious with his movements so as not to cross the path of the deadly beams. Unfortunately, as he avoided one sunbeam, he stepped on a creaky floorboard. He froze, desperately trying to listen out for any movement downstairs. He heard nothing, not even the television which he realised he had left on earlier. In that moment, Laddie knew his situation had just got worse. Footsteps began to ascend the stairs, slower and quieter than they had been going down. Laddie dived into the nearest room, the one where he had concealed Mary, closed the door behind him and searched for a place to hide. The wardrobe appeared to be the only option and Laddie waited with bated breath as he sat upon Mary's corpse. It wasn't comfortable and blood was getting on his clothes but Laddie had other things to worry about. The footsteps were right outside the room he was in.

"Mom?" called out a girl's voice uncertainly.

Laddie figured that this must be Mary's daughter, Amy or Ava or whatever Mary had said her daughter's name was. All of a sudden the phone rang, causing Laddie to jump at the shrill rings and nearly tumble out of the wardrobe. Mary's daughter went back downstairs to answer the phone and Laddie let out a sigh of relief, he was safe for the moment.

Back at the house, Lucy had gotten home with Sam and found the note from Michael. As she read how Laddie was missing and Michael had gone looking for him with Star, she felt guilty for not realising sooner, if she had, Laddie might not have gotten as far as wherever he was now. Michael asked her to stay at home with Sam in case Laddie returned on his own. Whilst Lucy agreed that this was a good idea, she wanted to feel like she was doing something useful rather than sitting around and waiting. She went upstairs and informed Max about what had happened.

Max listened as Lucy told him about Laddie. It was not the most ideal circumstances he would have liked to have woken up to but, as he sat there comforting and reassuring Lucy that she was not to blame for Laddie's current predicament, his mind began to formulate how to turn this whole fiasco to his advantage. The first priority was to obviously find Laddie, after that, he could turn his attention to his boys' behaviour. Max still hadn't forgotten about David's defiance over the meal and in the video store and it made his blood boil how David thought disobedience was acceptable. Dwayne had a soft spot for Laddie and if he could be convinced that the young boy's current situation was a result of the bad influence the group had on him, then an improvement in behaviour could be reached, at least on Dwayne's part. Paul had already displayed an interest in accepting Lucy, which was an encouraging sign; however, David held a major influence over the group. Paul wouldn't go against David unless he felt like he had support and Marko was just a puppet to David's whims. Splitting his boys up would be a good thing as well as an appropriate punishment.

Back at Mary's house, Laddie was desperate to go back to sleep but couldn't. The wardrobe was cramped, stuffy, and staying hidden in such a confined space whilst balancing on a corpse was tricky. Anytime he was on the verge of slumber, he would end up leaning precariously to the side and nearly fall through the wardrobe doors into the room. He hadn't heard Mary's daughter for a while and he wondered if she had left the house, giving him time to escape. Deciding to chance it, Laddie carefully opened one of the wardrobe doors and peeked out. The coast appeared to be clear and the sun had set. As Laddie was climbing out, he caught his foot on Mary and fell to the floor, bringing her after him with a thud. Laddie got up and brushed himself down; his jeans had large stains of blood on them as did the edges of his jacket. Getting Mary back into the wardrobe was a lot harder second time round, and no matter what different angles he tried, he just couldn't get her back in so he left her as she was. Laddie cautiously made his way across the now sunbeam free landing and down the stairs. All was quiet, unnervingly so, and he began to have doubts about whether coming out of hiding was such a good idea. The front door was straight ahead of him and it was tantalisingly close. If he made a dash for it, he could make it outside and be gone in no time, never looking back. Jumping the last few stairs, Laddie fumbled with the latch on the door when someone roughly grabbed him from behind.

"Gotcha!" he heard her exclaim triumphantly.

Without thinking, Laddie grabbed the nearest thing to hand, a framed photo of Mary's family, and swung it at his assailant. He saw her stumble backwards before falling to the ground where she lay motionless. Laddie wasn't sure if she was dead or alive nor did he care. Throwing the front door open, he ran out into the fresh air and the incoming night.

The hunt for Laddie was not going well. Michael had hoped to have found him already, but after spending hours searching what felt like the entirety of Santa Carla, he had to admit defeat. He and Star had started at the boardwalk before separating and working their way outwards into the surrounding areas. Now he was searching the boardwalk once more, almost positive that Laddie would turn up there eventually especially with it being after sundown.

Star must have had the same idea as she came running up to him, clearly agitated with worry. "Did you find him?"

"No, not yet but we will. Mom and Sam are at the house, he may be with them" replied Michael, trying to ease his girlfriend's distress.

"I hope so. Where is he?" Star ran her had nervously through her hair, looking frantically around in the hope Laddie would miraculously appear.

"Come on, we'll head to Max's shop and use the phone to call the house." Michael gently pulled on Star's arm to get her to follow.

Star was reluctant to leave. Laddie could still show up at the boardwalk and what if she wasn't there? He was probably cold, alone and frightened. He needed her. "You go to Max's. I'm staying here" she said suddenly.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself!" responded Michael, pulling on her arm again.

"Why?" demanded Star, removing her arm from Michael's grasp. She was in no mood to have her decisions questioned.

Michael struggled for a reasonable explanation that wouldn't result in Star yelling at him before they were interrupted by the arrival of Marko. "What are you doing here?" questioned Michael, instinctively putting himself between Star and Marko.

"Flying a kite" replied Marko sarcastically. "What do you think? I'm looking for Laddie." Marko ignored Michael and spoke to Star instead, losing the sarcasm. "David told us about your little visit earlier. How long has Laddie been missing?"

"I don't know! Since this morning I think" answered Star. "I thought he would've tried to find you lot."

"You've searched the boardwalk?" Marko didn't want to waste his time searching where Laddie wasn't.

"Every inch" confirmed Star.

"Shit" cursed Marko under his breath.

"What's the matter? What's wrong?" asked Star, getting even more restless. She could sense that finding Laddie had just become more urgent than it already was. She trailed after Marko as he hurried back to his motorcycle.

"I need to find the others. If Laddie isn't in our territory then he's in someone else's."

Star froze as she saw the almost fearful look in Marko's eyes. "You mean other vampires?" She could grasp the potential severity of the situation without Marko saying what would happen next.

"If they find him, they'll kill him!"


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks for the reviews, I enjoy hearing feedback. I know it's been a bit of a while since I last updated so here's an extra long chapter to make up for it. Just a quick recap for anyone who doesn't want to reread anything: Laddie ran away and made his first kill. He is currently lost in Santa Carla whilst everyone is looking for him.

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Laddie ran through many streets until his legs began to ache and he had to stop. He found himself at a large grassy area with a playground. During the day the playground would be easily viewed from afar, but at night it would be secluded in darkness. Laddie traipsed across the wet grass and sat down on one of the swings. He began to sob, cold, alone and afraid of what Lucy and Max would say if they found out that he'd killed someone.

"Are you lost?"

Laddie turned to see who had spoken. A girl with curly red hair was sitting on the swing next to him. She looked to be the same age as him. Laddie wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded in response to her question.

I'm Emily" said the smiling girl.

"Laddie" said Laddie, introducing himself.

A moment of silence passed between them before Emily spoke again. "Would you like to be my friend?"

Laddie felt his spirits lift. After everything that had happened and the state he was in, a friend to play with would be nice. "Yes please" he answered eagerly.

"Come with me!" Emily beckoned as she got off her swing. "You can come to my house."

"I don't know" replied Laddie hesitantly. The last time someone invited him into their house, he'd accidentally killed them. He didn't want to do that again. He liked Emily and he didn't want to hurt her.

Emily pouted. "But friends stay at each other's houses. Don't you want to be my friend, Laddie?"

"I do!" Laddie quickly reassured her. He didn't want to upset his new friend.

"Then follow me." Emily hid her grin from Laddie as she led him away from the playground.

"Where do you live?" inquired Laddie curiously as he trailed after her.

"Not far" replied Emily vaguely. She glided silently down some back alleys with Laddie following her every move like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Your family must be really cool to let you stay out this late." said Laddie, trying to make conversation.

Emily smiled and kept walking, the young vampire obviously hadn't been inducted into the lifestyle properly, he was so trusting and clearly couldn't recognise another vampire yet. She almost felt sorry for him.

Laddie waited for his new friend to reply but she didn't so he tried a new topic instead. "Have you ever been to the boardwalk? It's really fun!"

Emily stopped dead in her tracks and faced Laddie. She knew exactly which pack he was from. "Are your family looking for you?" she asked steadily.

Laddie shrugged. As much as he wanted to go home, he dreaded it as well.

"ARE YOUR FAMILY LOOKING FOR YOU?" Emily yelled irritably, causing Laddie to jump from her sudden outburst.

"Yes they are."

Emily turned her head sharply to face her replier and immediately backed away from him. Advancing towards her was one of the infamous Lost Boys, his face in vampire form. "You're not allowed here" she hissed, fangs bared.

David was amused at the girl's pathetic attempt to intimidate. He could so easily kill her, be done with her within seconds, however, doing so on her own territory when she was no significant threat to him would be declaring an act of war between her pack and his own. Something he wasn't going to risk, he had to let her live. "Run along" he smirked.

Emily glared at David before retreating. She wasn't going to endanger her life over a vampire who was stupid enough to believe she wanted to be his friend, even if tearing him apart would have been immensely satisfying.

Laddie watched in fearful silence as Emily left and David's face morphed back to normal. Imagination running wild on what cruel punishment David would give him, Laddie burst into tears.

David let out a frustrated sigh. He could tell the young vampire had made his first kill; the evidence was plain to see on Laddie's clothes. What shred of conscience remained in him told him he should try and comfort the boy. David ignored it, as he often did. "Stop that right now or I'm going to leave you here!"

Laddie flinched at the harshness in David's words and tried to stifle his sobs, not wanting to be left behind or anger David further. "Everybody is going to be mad at me!" he wailed.

David was unsympathetic. "What did you expect? You run off in the middle of the day and land yourself in a heap of trouble. You very nearly got yourself killed...not that I care or anything". David didn't want to admit that he may actually have felt some concern about Laddie's safety whilst he was missing.

"What should I do?" asked Laddie desperately. He wished he'd never run away this morning then today would never have happened like it did. "Everybody's going to hate me!" Laddie began sobbing uncontrollably.

David bent down and took hold of Laddie by the shoulders and gave him a little shake. "Laddie, listen to me. Get a grip!"

Laddie ceased his crying to a sniffle and threw his arms around David's neck, burrowing his face in David's shoulder.

David was taken by surprise as Laddie hugged him. Unused to such an action, he tensed up. "Let go!" he ordered the boy.

Laddie quickly reminded himself that this was David he was hugging and released his hold immediately. David stood up and out of reach just as fast. "Sorry" said Laddie sheepishly.

"Don't do it again." David brushed off his shoulder, making sure Laddie left no marks. "Come on let's get you home."

Meanwhile, back at the house, Lucy was pacing anxiously. Sam was upstairs doing homework whilst Max had gone to the video store in case Laddie turned up there. The phone rang causing Lucy to jump. She quickly answered it, hoping it was Michael ringing to say he had found Laddie. It was Max.

"Any news?" he asked.

"No. Not yet" sighed Lucy disappointedly.

"I'm coming home" declared Max. "I've given Maria the house phone number and a description of Laddie. She's going to give us a ring should he turn up."

"Laddie will be alright won't he?" The thought had been playing on Lucy's mind all afternoon. If anything happened to him, it would be all her fault.

"Laddie's going to be fine" said Max reassuringly. He'll be found and brought home safe and well."

"I hope so. I told Sam what has happened. I thought he should know what is going on, just in case..." Lucy couldn't speak as emotion overwhelmed her. If Laddie was hurt or worse, she'd never forgive herself.

Max was home within twenty minutes. He comforted Lucy as she collapsed into his arms, blaming herself for Laddie's disappearance. He repeatedly told her that it wasn't her fault, that it was others' bad influence that had caused today's events, but she was having none of it and sobbed even harder.

Sam came downstairs to see what all the commotion was. He was confronted with the heart wrenching scene of seeing his mother so distressed. "Mom, are you okay?"

Lucy didn't want Sam to see her like this. She calmed herself as best as she could. "I'm fine, Sam." She said, giving her son a weak smile.

The front door flew open and in walked Marko and Paul, doing their best to support a severely beaten Michael, followed by a hysterical Star.

"MICHAEL!" shrieked Lucy, rushing to her injured son.

"JESUS CHRIST!" yelled Sam, hurrying to assist.

Max pulled Marko aside as Paul helped Lucy and Sam lead Michael to the sofa. An inconsolable Star hovered around Michael. "What happened?" Max demanded.

"There was a situation, we dealt with it" replied Marko, hoping such a response would suffice. David didn't want Max to know they were entering someone else's territory. Marko looked over to what was happening on the sofa. "Is Michael going to be okay?"

Max wasn't in the mood for games. "Don't change the subject. I want to know why Michael is in the state he is!"

Marko looked down at the floor and remained silent. He wished David would hurry up and get here.

Lucy picked up the phone and started dialling "I'm calling an ambulance."

Max took the phone and put it back down. "Lucy, calm down. We'll put Michael to bed. A long sleep will do him a world of good. He'll be better tomorrow night."

"He's covered in blood!" protested Lucy. "He needs a hospital!"

Max could see the protective mother in Lucy coming out and knew he was going to face a battle to persuade Lucy to see it his way. "If he goes to hospital, they'll declare him dead. Vampires and hospitals don't mix."

Lucy was about to argue back when Michael called out weakly. "Mom, no hospitals".

Lucy ran to be by Michael's side whilst Paul was trying his best to soothe Star.

After a while, a sense of calm had fallen over the house. Michael had been cleaned up and escorted to bed by Lucy and Star who stayed by his side, Sam had also gone to bed, leaving Max downstairs with Paul and Marko.

"I want the truth!" Max growled. "What happened?"

Marko and Paul exchanged looks with each other but said nothing.

"You will stay here all night until you tell me what happened" Max looked directly at Marko.

Marko glanced at Paul one last time before venturing an answer. "Well, you see...stuff...happened and then...we...kind of...had to save Michael's life.

Max wanted answers. "What stuff?"

"Just stuff" replied Marko, nervously biting his nails.

"During this "stuff", where were David and Dwayne?" The absence of his other two boys hadn't gone unnoticed by Max.

"They were elsewhere" said Paul, hoping to take some heat off of Marko.

"I see." Max wasn't entirely convinced that the other two weren't involved somehow. "Where exactly were you when the "stuff" happened?"

Marko stopped biting his nails. "Looking for Laddie" he grinned. It was the truth which Max wanted.

Max didn't smile. His boys were being evasive which meant they were somewhere they shouldn't have been. "Where?"

Before Marko could answer, the front door flew open again. This time in strolled David followed by Laddie.

"Hey little buddy!" greeted Paul to Laddie.

Max took in Laddie's appearance and glared at David suspiciously. He could smell that Laddie was no longer a half vampire and presumed David had something to do it. He was going to give David the chance to be honest. "David, why is Laddie covered in blood?"

"He's stood right here, why not ask him yourself?" replied David flippantly. He ignored Max and spoke to Marko. "Dwayne back yet?"

Marko shook his head. He could see that Max was about to lose his temper, he just hoped David was ready for it.

All of a sudden, Lucy came charging down the stairs, face in vampire form, leaving everybody speechless. "YOU!" she snarled at David.

"Darling, what's wrong?" asked Max in alarm, as Lucy threw an ornament at David.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" David loudly exclaimed as he dodged the flying ornament. It may have missed but the intent was clear. He moved from his spot by the front door to the other side of the room, making sure to put some distance between himself and Lucy.

Laddie watched in terror at Lucy's reaction. If she was like that with David, what was she going to do to him?

"Laddie, go upstairs!" Max ordered.

Laddie didn't need telling twice.

Lucy was trembling with fury. "HOW COULD YOU?"

"How could I what?" asked David warily, unsure of what he was meant to have done.

"DON'T PLAY DUMB! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID!" roared Lucy, hands balling into fists.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT?" David shouted back, genuinely confused about why he was having things thrown at him.

"Lucy, I'll handle this" said Max, stepping in before Lucy did something she'd regret. "Calm down!"

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "CALM DOWN? MY SON IS UPSTAIRS, COVERED IN BLOOD, BARELY MOVING. I FIND OUT DAVID'S TO BLAME, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN!"

"WHAT AM I HAVE MEANT TO HAVE DONE?" interjected David angrily. "I FOUND LADDIE, CAME BACK HERE AND YOU STARTED THROWING THINGS AT ME! WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

Marko and Paul watched the shouting match in awkward silence, wondering who would come out the victor.

Max remained calm and tried to diffuse the heated argument. "Lucy, I know you're upset, and you have every right to be, but it's not helping anybody, least of all Michael. Why don't you check on everyone upstairs? I'm going to have a word with my boys."

Lucy opened her mouth to protest before huffing and going back upstairs, leaving Max alone with David, Marko and Paul.

"Marko, Paul, I want you to find Dwayne and bring him back here. No excuses." It was an order that Marko and Paul didn't dare refuse, not tonight. Max watched them go.

"And you sent them out because...?" asked David, his temper dying down.

Max kept his tone steady. "Because I think it would be better if we spoke without an audience."

"Okay?" David could tell he wasn't about to be congratulated on finding Laddie, the cause of today's trouble.

"In the kitchen". Max had been waiting for the perfect excuse to do what he was about to do and Lucy had just given him one.

David followed Max into the kitchen. From what Lucy had said when she wasn't throwing things at him, David figured out that something had put Michael in a bad way. As to why Lucy thought he was involved, he had no idea.

Max closed the kitchen door behind David, not wanting to be overheard by anyone upstairs. "Over the last few months, I've noticed your behaviour leaves a lot to be desired."

David rolled his eyes. If all Max was going to do was tell him off for not being a good boy then he was wasting his time. He mentally lined up his list of excuses and false apologies. "Look..."

"Don't interrupt me! You're insolent, you're disrespectful and you're a bad influence on the other boys! Your use of language in the living room just now was disgusting! I've given you chance after chance to improve your behaviour and each time you've thrown it back in my face. Tonight's events are the final straw. I've had enough now, David, end of the line".

"Do you really expect me just to stand there whilst Lucy throws stuff at me for something I haven't even done?" responded David, temper starting to flare again.

Max ignored his comment. "Be that as it may, I am banishing you from this house. I don't want to see you again and I don't want you near my family."

David scowled. If that was the game Max wanted to play so be it. "Fine. If that's how you want it, you won't see me or the boys around here again." David made to leave but Max grabbed him roughly by the arm.

"Now David, this is where you don't listen" said Max condescendingly. "I said I don't want you near my family. Marko, Paul and Dwayne are part of that family. They're in, you're out. They're welcome here anytime they want, you're not. Am I making myself clear?" Max tried not to look smug as he informed David of his punishment. With David out of the picture, his other three boys would easily fall into line.

David said nothing which Max took as begrudging acknowledgement. Max released David's arm. "You can go!"

David stormed out of the house. There was no way in hell Max was going to keep him from his family.

Lucy heard the front door slam from upstairs. She went downstairs to find Max pouring himself a glass of whisky. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Everything is going to be just fine" Max smiled, giving Lucy a kiss. Everything was going to be fine indeed.


	18. Chapter 18

I am extremely sorry that it's been over a year since I last updated. Next chapter will be the last and it will be posted next Saturday. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story (if there is anybody left); your support has been truly appreciated.

* * *

A week had passed since Michael had come home all bloodied and beaten, and he had finally healed completely. Michael couldn't quite remember how he got into that state but, according to Marko, who was now reluctantly living at the house alongside Dwayne and Paul, he'd been lucky to still be breathing. He'd found out from Star that Laddie had turned all the way, the poor kid, and Michael couldn't help but feel guilty that if he'd finished Max off sooner, none of this would've happened. Star also mentioned that Max had banished David, or rather Max was led to believe that he'd banished David from all their lives; Michael knew David was still around. He didn't turn up at the house anymore, but that didn't stop Marko, Dwayne and Paul from sneaking out with Laddie under the pretence of taking Laddie for ice cream. Laddie was committed to the lie, much to Star's dismay, she began to worry that Laddie would end up like David and the others, lying and manipulating his way through life. Whilst Star was concerned about Laddie's transformation, Sam was thrilled by it as it meant he didn't have to go to school anymore. This led to plenty of heated conversations between Star and Sam which resulted in both of them giving the other the silent treatment.

"They're doing it again!" complained Star, as she sat with Michael on the sofa watching television.

"Doing what?" asked Michael, though he could probably guess. It was after dinner, Max, Mom and Sam were at the video store for the evening, which meant Marko, Paul and Dwayne would be taking Laddie to get "ice cream".

"They're going to see David and they're taking Laddie with them. It's not right" Star began to fidget agitatedly.

"Does it really matter?" As soon as he said it, Michael wished he'd chosen his words more carefully. Of course it mattered to Star because Laddie was involved. What Michael meant to stay was that there was no need to worry; Dwayne at the very least would ensure Laddie would stay out of trouble.

"Yes, it does matter, Michael!" Star said angrily. "What if they're taking Laddie on a hunt? We wouldn't know because they'd lie about it. Worst of all, they're getting Laddie to lie too. Well I'm not putting up with it anymore! I'm calling Max" Star picked up the phone and began dialling.

Michael tried to wrestle the phone off of Star. He might not agree with what Marko, Paul and Dwayne were doing, but it kept David away from Mom and Sam, and it meant nobody would notice what he had planned for Max. "Just think about this for a second, will you?"

"I have thought about this. Let me go!" Star elbowed Michael in the face, causing him to clutch his bleeding nose. She finished dialling and waited for Max to pick up.

"Max's Video, how can I help you?" Max said from the other end of the line.

"Max, it's Star. There's something you should know..."

Max listened as Star told him exactly what his boys had been up to and where he could find them. It seemed David's influence hadn't been entirely broken, he'd soon see to that. "Thank you Star. You did the right thing in telling me". Max put down the phone.

Lucy was just finishing serving a customer. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Everything is fine, Lucy" Max smiled. "I've just got an errand to run, I'll be back soon. Sam will need to walk Thorn whilst I'm gone." Max kissed Lucy goodbye and left the store. He got into his car and began driving to Hudson's Bluff, ready to surprise his boys.

When he reached his destination, Max found the rickety staircase Star had described. His boys' bikes were already parked. Max quietly descended the stairs and entered the cave, ignoring the warning signs littering the entrance way. He could hear music and his boys' laughter emanating from within. Max entered the main cavern which the boys had obviously transformed into their very loose definition of a living area. The place was a wreck, half ruins with rubble lying about, it was very uncivilised. "Having fun?"

"Oh shit!" exclaimed Paul quickly turning off the stereo. The cave fell deathly silent, the tension in the air was suffocating. Everyone stood up from where they were sat, the mirth and laughter replaced with apprehensive glances between each other. Laddie hid behind Dwayne.

"And here I thought everything was going so well" Max said with a far from friendly smile. He locked eyes with David, who stared back, unwilling to back down. Foolish boy. "Would someone like to explain to me what's going on?

Nobody answered.

"No? Come, come now boys, you're normally so happy to answer back" Max sneered at the wall of silence that met him.

David was the first to speak. "Who told you?" He knew it was either Star or Michael that had told Max about the cave and he was going to make whichever one it was pay dearly for it.

"Star" replied Max lightly. "Her concern for Laddie's well being proved to be well founded."

"Laddie's fine" Dwayne chimed in. "She needn't have worried"

Laddie quivered behind Dwayne. _What had Star done?_

"Laddie, come here!" Max ordered.

Laddie trembled, hesitating to move.

"NOW!" Max shouted.

Laddie very reluctantly came out from behind Dwayne and began making his way over to Max, taking the smallest steps possible. He cast a pleading look at Dwayne, conveying the message _help me!_

Max was impatient. "Faster boy!" he snarled, roughly grabbing Laddie by the scruff of his jacket and dragging him the rest of the way, causing Laddie to whimper.

"Hey don't treat him like that!" Dwayne made a move towards Max before being held back by Paul and Marko.

Max was enraged at Dwayne's reaction, another disrespectful son, another lost cause. "How dare you speak to me like that you insolent, ungrateful wretch! I took you in all those years ago when you had no roof over your head! I gave you a family when your own would've left you to die on the streets! This is how you repay me, by turning on your family!"

"I haven't turned on my family!" Dwayne protested defiantly. "My family is right here beside me"

Max could sense that the situation was beginning to get out of his control. His boys were starting to gang up against him, their allegiance was to each other, not to him, and David and Dwayne would easily sway Paul and Marko to see things their way. Max wasn't stupid enough to think he could take on all four of his boys at once, there was safety in numbers and he was at a disadvantage, so he played the only card he had left. "You're all banished! You can reside in this pit you call home but don't ever come near the house or my family again!"

All four vampires scowled as Max exited the cave, taking Laddie with him. Dwayne turned to Marko and Paul, pushing them away. "Why the hell did you stop me?"

"Because we're family" Marko replied. "And families look out for each other. Isn't that right, David?" Marko looked to his friend and brother for confirmation, only to find David already gone.

Back at the house, Star was doing her best to apologise to Michael. "I'm sorry, Michael, but I had to, for Laddie"

Michael paced agitatedly. "Do you know what they'll do if they find out it was you?"

"We could leave" suggested Star desperately. "Take Laddie with us!"

Michael sighed in exasperation. "I can't just leave mom and Sam. And David will hunt us down wherever we go."

Star didn't seem to hear him. "If we leave now, we can get a head start, be out of Santa Carla within the hour. We'll be gone before they even realise what we've done. They can't travel by day, which gives us more time to get away! I'll go pack!" Star ran upstairs, too immersed in her plan to notice Michael's reluctance.

Michael was about to follow her, to try and convince her that that running away was not the answer, when the front door flew open and in stormed a positively murderous David. "WHERE IS SHE?" he roared.

Michael attempted to lie, to protect Star. "She's out."

David ignored Michael, searching the rooms of the ground floor for Star, when a noise from upstairs caught his attention. David dashed up the stairs before Michael could stop him.

Michael rushed after him, there was no time to call anybody for assistance, Star would be dead by then. Michael found Star in their bedroom, pinned to the wall and gasping for breath with David's hands around her throat. Thinking quickly, Michael grabbed a stake out of the box Grandpa had given him and pointed it at David. "Let her go, or I'll ram this through your heart!"

David glared at Michael before throwing Star to the side. Star landed on the floor, coughing and spluttering as air re-entered her lungs. She looked fearfully at the stand-off between Michael and David.

"I hope you're prepared to use that, Michael" David smirked, his voice disturbingly calm.

Michael tried to keep his hand steady. "I want to make a deal"

"Not interested" David replied icily.

"Not even if it meant getting rid of Max?" Michael could hear his own heart hammering in his chest

David paused, torn between getting revenge on Star for her betrayal and hearing Michael out. "I'm listening"

"I'll kill Max tomorrow if it means you and the others stay away from my family" Michael waited with baited breath for David's response.

"And why would you do something like that?" asked David warily. It seemed too easy, there must be a catch.

"Because I want my family to have a normal life that doesn't involve killing and hiding away from the sun" Michael replied. "That can only happen if Max is dead."

"And how do I know you won't come after _my_ family once Max is dead?"

Michael looked David straight in the eye. "I give you my word"

"Your word means nothing. I want you and your family out of Santa Carla otherwise I'm killing all of you"

Michael could sense David's threat was not an idle one. "We'll leave, me, mom, Sam and Star. We'll pack up and be gone within the week"

"I'm not leaving Laddie!" interjected Star.

"Yes you are!" snarled David. "Laddie is one of us now; you're never going to see him again. Consider it the price of your betrayal". David turned to Michael "You've got one week then you're gone".

Star sobbed loudly as David left, half relieved that she wasn't going to die imminently and half heartbroken that within a week she'd never get to see Laddie ever again.

Michael exhaled heavily and leaned back against the wall, the stake still gripped tightly in his hand, the burden of what he knew he had to do the very next day becoming suddenly too real. "Nobody must know what happened here tonight; at least not until after Max is dead".

Star didn't seem to hear him. "This is all my fault" she muttered. "I never should have made that phone call."

As much as Michael wished he could reassure her, he found it difficult to disagree.

Michael's hesitation only added to Star's feelings of guilt. She knew she'd brought this whole situation down upon herself and now she'd have to deal with it. She did her best to wipe away her tears. "What do we do now?" she asked.

"We get some rest" Michael replied. "We've got an early start tomorrow".


	19. Chapter 19

This is it, the final chapter! I hope it is a satisfying ending for you all. This story has taught me a valuable lesson that I will use in all future fan-fiction writing. Thank you so much to everyone who has stayed with this story to the end, your support for what has been my very first fan-fiction has been truly appreciated. Thanks again!

* * *

Sam was roughly shaken awake by an already dressed Michael. "Sammy, wake up!"

"What do you want?" Sam groaned.

"I need you to do me a favour" whispered Michael.

"Why?" Sam asked, eyes closed.

"Because I do" Michael didn't want Sam to know the truth of what he had in store for Max.

Sam wanted Michael to leave so he could go back to sleep. "What is it?" he sighed.

Michael took a deep breath, his plan hinged on Sam saying yes. "I need you to take Thorn for a walk".

"No" replied Sam.

Michael decided to try bribery instead. " What if I pay you?"

Sam was always open to negotiation. " How much?"

"Twenty bucks?" Michael thought that was a very reasonable amount to offer. All Sam needed to do was accept.

Sam rolled over to go back to sleep. "I'm not getting out of bed for twenty bucks."

Michael silently cursed Sam under his breath for his stubbornness. "How about thirty?"

Sam considered the new offer, it was a reasonable amount just for taking Thorn out for a walk. "I'll do it later this afternoon".

"I'll give you forty if you do it now" Michael wanted to get the deed over and done with whilst he still had the courage.

" Fine" agreed Sam, holding out his hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Michael.

"Money first" replied Sam.

Michael had no choice but to pay up then and there. He went back into his bedroom whilst Sam got dressed. He heard Sam take Thorn downstairs and the front door close. Michael turned to Star, she too was fully clothed. "You know what you have to do?"

Star nodded, she had to get Lucy out of the room so Michael could kill Max.

"Good luck" said Michael.

Star smiled weakly. "You too".

Michael waited behind the closed bedroom door, what felt like hours were only minutes in reality. Soon he heard Star and his mom walking past the door.

"I don't understand why you want to do this right now" he heard his mother murmur to Star.

Michael waited with baited breath, stake in hand, as the two women descended the stairs. With Thorn and his mom out of the way, Michael had his chance. He quietly crept into Max's room and shut the door. Max was fast asleep, completely unaware that his death was fast approaching. Michael knew it was now or never, previous failure had resulted in Laddie turning, he wasn't about to let the same thing happen to Sam. Trying to steady his trembling hand, Michael approached the bed; he held the stake over Max's heart poised to strike. Max looked so normal, so human, could Michael really kill him? Michael knew he had to do this, for mom and for Sammy; he could live with whatever guilt he felt so long as they were safe from harm. That could only happen if Max was dead. Steeling himself, Michael closed his eyes and struck.

Max jolted awake with an agonised scream as he felt a sharp pain pierce his chest and penetrate his heart. He tried to pull the protruding implement out of his chest but it was imbedded too deep and he was getting weaker by the minute.

Michael left the room in a hurry and shut the door behind him, it was bad enough he had to hear Max's last moments, he didn't want to have to witness them too. A small explosion sounded followed by dead silence. Michael hesitantly opened the door. The room was a mess, there was blood and guts everywhere alongside torn sheets, broken lamps and damaged bedside tables.

"What the hell was that?" asked Lucy, coming upstairs to see what the commotion had been, followed by a silent Star. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the look of shock on Michael's face and the state of what remained of her's and Max's bedroom. "Michael, what did you do? Where's Max?"

Michael couldn't answer, too stunned by what had just transpired. He'd done it, he'd killed Max, everything was back to normal, or as normal as it would ever be again.

"Where's Max?" Lucy asked again, though deep down she knew the answer. The overwhelming weariness that had plagued her during the day for weeks was gone and that could only mean one thing.

"He's dead" replied Michael, avoiding eye contact with his mother.

"You planned this?" Lucy was numb.

"Yes" Michael would never forget the look of horror on his mother's face as he glanced at her.

"Why?" Lucy was still trying to comprehend what Michael had done.

"To save you and Sam" Michael tearfully replied. "I didn't want you to become vampires"

"Where's Sam?" Lucy became fearful for her youngest son's whereabouts.

"He's fine, I sent him out with Thorn. He didn't know what I was going to do. Mom, please don't look at me like that!" pleaded Michael as his mother looked at him in anger and disgust.

"Get out"

"Mom, please" Michael begged.

Lucy was furious. "You had Star get me out of the room with a flimsy excuse so you could sneak in and murder Max! You involved your brother by tricking him into getting Thorn out of your way! Get Out! You and Star, get out!

"Mom, please..."

"GET OUT!" Lucy roared, she couldn't bear to look at Michael right now.

Michael grabbed Star and pulled her behind him as he rushed down the stairs, his mother's wails of anguish loud in his ears.

When Sam returned home, he saw Michael speeding off down the road with Star on his motorbike. "Mom?" called out Sam. He could hear distressed sobs coming from upstairs. Sam hurried up the stairs to find his mom crying on the floor. Sam rushed to her side. "Mom, what's wrong?" Sam asked as his mother threw her arms around him. He got a good view of the bloodied bedroom.

"Oh Sam" Lucy wailed. "It's Michael". Lucy couldn't say anymore as she broke down into further distressed sobs.

"Michael, slow down!" Star urged as Michael sped along the Santa Carla road, getting faster and faster. They were fully human now, and a motorcycle crash was the last thing Star wanted.

Michael ignored her and sped up. His mom hated him now, what was there left to live for? Michael just rode aimlessly on his bike, surprised when he pulled up at his grandfather's front door. Nanook greeted him with a wag of his tail.

Star dismounted and began heading back towards town. She was all for giving Lucy some space but she wasn't about to let Michael nearly kill her on his motorcycle.

Grandpa emerged from round the side of the house to see who the unexpected company was. Seeing the distressed state Michael was in, Grandpa invited him in. "Come on in, have a root beer and tell me all about it".

It took several hours for Sam to calm his mom down and now it was after sunset as they sat in the living room, anxiously awaiting Michael's return. Laddie sat and watched television on the sofa, and Lucy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He'd never get to see the sun again, he was cursed to remain a little boy forever.

Star entered the house quietly, obviously hoping not to be seen.

"Where's Michael?" Lucy asked her.

"He's at your dad's house" Star replied.

Lucy breathed a heavy sigh of relief. At least he was safe, and not lying in a ditch somewhere.

"There's something you should know" Star said hesitantly. Michael was so much better at explaining things than she was. "Michael didn't get chance to tell you but we need to start packing".

Lucy listened as Star explained all about Michael's deal with David. Lucy didn't react, all her emotions had been spent earlier, but accepted that once again she was a penniless, jobless, single mother looking for a place to settle down with her boys. Luckily, Lucy could arrange to stay with her old friend Caroline for a few weeks in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Whilst everyone was packing, Michael returned on his motorbike. He entered the house to see some bags were already lined up to go in the car. "Mom? Sam?" he called out.

Lucy was the first to greet him. "Oh Michael" she said pulling her eldest son into a long hug.

Michael hugged her tightly back, he never wanted to lose his mom's love again.

"You best start packing" Lucy smiled through tears "we're going to Kansas"

"I'm sorry I screwed things up mom" apologised Michael.

"Let's not swell on the past, Michael. Things happen, you just have to make the best of them and move on" Lucy gave Michael a kiss. Why don't you start loading things into the car?"

"Okay mom" Michael smiled back.

Meanwhile upstairs, Star was stuffing some of Laddie's clothes into a bag. "Kansas is a bit different to Santa Carla but you'll like it, I promise".

Laddie had one question. "Will Dwayne come and visit us in Kansas?"

Star pretended not to hear, she didn't want Laddie to throw a tantrum and delay their getaway.

Michael was halfway through loading the bags into the car when he heard the familiar unwelcome roar of motorbikes pull up. "I thought I told you to leave my family alone".

"We're here for Laddie". David replied icily. "Now you can either get him for us or we'll get him ourselves. Decision's yours"

"Wait here." Michael went inside to retrieve Laddie and tell Star the bad news that it was time to say goodbye.

"We can take him with us!" Star said desperately.

Michael shook his head. "It's too late Star. They're outside, and you know they won't leave without him."

Star turned to Laddie who looked back at her with a questioning gaze. "Laddie, do you want to live with me in Kansas or live in the cave with David and Marko?" Star hoped that if the choice was between her and Laddie's two least favourite people, then Laddie would choose her.

"I want to live with Dwayne and Paul"

Star's heart sank at Laddie's response.

Laddie could see he had upset Star. "You can come and visit anytime you want" he added hastily.

"Yeah" Star smiled, fighting back tears. She didn't have the courage to tell Laddie that she wouldn't see him again. "Let's take you outside to Dwayne".

Star held Laddie's hand as she walked down the stairs and outside. She tried to memorise as much as she could about Laddie in what would be her last few moments with him, the feel of his hand in hers, his scent, his voice, his appearance. She knew he'd forget about her eventually, she'd fade from his memory like breath in cold air. Perhaps it was better that way, he could move on from her, though she'd never move on from him. She handed Laddie over to Dwayne. "Look after him" she said. Dwayne responded with a nod of acknowledgement.

Star stood back and watched as Dwayne, Paul and Marko rode off into the night, taking Laddie with them.

"You did the right thing, Star"

"Of course I did, I did what you wanted" Star snapped, she couldn't bear to hear David gloat.

David thought he would've enjoyed seeing Star bid farewell to Laddie forever, but instead he found he was in no mood to celebrate. "You did what's best for Laddie. You're mortal now, old age will come for you and eventually you'll die. Do you really want Laddie to see that?"

Star didn't want Laddie to see her grow old and feeble, especially as he would never face that fate but the thought that she would never see him again was insufferable. "I just need to see Laddie one more time".

"No"

"Why?" Star scowled. Why couldn't David just be kind for once in his life?

"Because if you see him again, they'll always be just "one more time" and you'll find it harder and harder to let go. You've said your goodbyes, now leave it at that". David looked Star in the eye to make sure she understood.

Star broke the eye contact as David rode off on his motorcycle and into the darkness.

Michael, who had been watching the exchange from the doorway, came out and put a comforting arm around Star. She sobbed loudly into his shoulder, the pain of losing Laddie already too much. Michael held her tightly. "It's going to get better, Star, I promise. Kansas will be a new start for us, a better one, and there's one thing we won't have to worry about there"

"And what's that?" Star asked.

"All the goddamn vampires"


End file.
